


Out of Time, Into Life

by adepressedmeme



Series: Out of Time, Into Life [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Anal Sex, Fluff and Smut, Goodneighbor (Fallout), Lesbian Sex, Multi, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Shameless Smut, The Institute (Fallout), The Railroad (Fallout), Threesome - F/M/M, Vaginal Sex, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2020-09-28 04:57:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 69
Words: 142,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20420294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adepressedmeme/pseuds/adepressedmeme
Summary: A first person view of the sole survivor finding her son, and herself, in the Commonwealth. She will find love, hate, and friendship as she adapts to her new life.





	1. The Green Jewel

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story told through the lens of Olivia, my sole survivor. It will have deviations from the main plot of the game. Some chapters will be graphic in terms of violence and sex. The timeline will jump around as she recounts experiences and continues her journey. This is the first time I dedicated myself to actually writing out a full fanfiction. Please leave critiques for me as I continue this story.

Diamond city, 9 months after waking up. 

I was finally here, the green jewel of the waste. Walking in the gates reminded me of all the dates Nate and I had at the games. Nate was a big Red Sox fan. I never really cared for the sport. The lights were blinding and the wind bitter, but I enjoyed cuddling up to him in the stands to stay warm. I came back to focus from my daydream by the sound of a young girl shouting about a newspaper and institute threats. She looked startled at the sight of me, I guess I would be too if I saw myself. My vault suit was covered in mud, blood, and some other fluids I didn’t want to think about. My hair was in tangles and my face was scraped up and just as dirty as my clothes. 

“Here’s your paper ma’am. Every newcomer gets the first one free,” the girl said.  
“Thanks kid,” I replied.  
“I’m Nat by the way, don’t let the institute snatch you up in the middle of the night. We warned you first.” 

I walked away from her and made my way to the noodle stand. I was dying for some food after the several run in with raiders and super mutants on the way here. Dogmeat looked pretty hungry too. Two Diamond city residents looked alarmed at my presence, maybe I looked like a raider. 

“Nan-ni shimasko-ka?" The robot behind the counter hissed. I sat there, obtuse.  
““Nan-ni shimasko-ka?" It repeated.  
“Um-”  
“Just say yes, he doesn’t understand anything else.” A stranger interrupted.  
“Oh thanks, YES.” I replied to the robot. 

He then took my caps for a warm bowl of noodles. Dogmeat whimpered at the sight of me greedily slurping the noodles. I rubbed his head and assured him he was getting food next. The noodles had a surprisingly palatable consistency, like the noodles I would get with Nate at our favorite Japanese restaurant. I took a moment after facing the bottom of my bowl, drowning in my thoughts of Nate, to look around the market. Weapons, general supplies, chems, doctors and the likes. There had to be somewhere I could wash up. I walked over to the meat stand and bought a cut of radstag for dogmeat, who gobbled it down without even breaking it up.  
“You’re going to choke one day dummy,” I said lovingly, receiving a playful whimper from Dogmeat. 

I walked over to a city guard to ask about a place to wash. He seemed more interested in checking out the arsonal strapped to my legs, and telling me to watch my dog, then actually being helpful.There was a kid that runs the water purifier and 35 caps got me enough low radiation water for a bath. Dogmeat sat outside the door of the bathing hut. I unbuckled my leather armour and peeled off my vault suit. Looking at it now, there were tears from knives and gunshots all over it. I ran into two groups of raiders and a few super mutants on the way here, but luckily Dogmeat and I were able to escape from most of the danger. My suit would need to be washed and repaired before I could use it again. With a sigh, I began to wash. There was a clean cloth and some abraxo cleaner by a tub of cold water. I lathered up the cloth and got to work on the dried up blood and mud over me. I inspected myself as I washed, taking a mental inventory of my new scars. So far since I walked out of that freezer I’ve gotten about a dozen scars, mostly lacerations. I found three cuts on my legs that needed tending. Thankfully I packed bandages that Preston gave me before leaving Sanctuary. Preston seemed hurt when I told him to stay there instead of head out with me. We had helped several settlements and he named me General, but I knew it was better to leave Preston to plan out our attack to take back the castle then to drag him to Diamond city. 

I towel dried off and slipped into a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt I brought in my bag. I took a moment to try and detangle my hair with my hands to no avail. There was a cracked full length on the wall that I could use. Ten months ago I was a rather plump woman, but the woman looking back at me was not her. Most of my extra stomach fat from pregnancy was gone, my arms looked much more toned, and my face more gaunt. Admittedly, I have been wanting to shape up after giving birth to Shawn, but recovering from my c-section made that very difficult. I grabbed Dogmeat and headed to the Dugout Inn for a room for the night. The barkeep was very vocal, but unfortunately I was too tired for any real conversation. I ordered some beer to numb the pain of my new wounds, then paid for a room. Tucked away drunk for the night, I drifted into a deep sleep for the first time since leaving Sanctuary. 

I woke up at noon, just in time to check out with Yefim. He was the opposite of his outspoken brother, but just as statuesque. I really just need to get Nate’s shape out of my mind. Every tall man I meet is Nate to me. 

“I hope you enjoyed your stay,” Yefim said at a near whisper. 

I simply nodded in response, blushing, and promised Vadim I would come back for a drink soon. Dogmeat lead the way to the meat shop, determined to be fed first this time. After appeasing him with some mole rat chunks, I ate some more noodles and made my way to the barber. I haven’t gotten a haircut in these past nine months, and I knew my hair was a rat’s nest. I don’t know if I sat in that chair because I really cared about my hair, or if I was just delaying walking into the detective agency. I wanted to find my son, but the anxiety of making this step was eating away at me. 

After the barber was done, and my hair was neatly tied away in a bun, I made my way to Valentine’s Detective Agency. With a deep breath, I opened the door.

“Another stray come to see Nick. Look, I’m sure you have problems but we’re closed right now.” A rather well kempt woman said to me without taking her eyes off of her paperwork.  
“Please ma’am, my baby was stolen.” I pleaded.  
“Oh god. Look, I’m real sorry but Nick isn’t in. He’s investigating a kidnapping at the Park Street Station. It’s not like him to take this long on a case and I’m worried something bad has happened to him.”  
“Don’t worry, I’ll find him.” With that, I made my way out. 

I stopped by Commonwealth Weaponry to load up on ammo and supplies, there was no telling how many armed men I would be engaging with. Arturo Rodriguez, who ran the shop, is a kind man. In another world I would try to take him out on a date, I always had a soft spot for beards and accents. Upon hearing that I was set out to rescue Nick, he discounted my vault suit repair and immediately began working on it. I made my way over to Diamond City Surplus to bid my time. 

“DON’T COME ANY CLOSER. I DON’T KNOW YOU. ARE YOU A SYNTH?” A harsh voiced woman spout. She was Asian, probably in her early thirties, and very nervous.  
“No, I’m not a synth.” I replied, fairly confused.  
“Good. Cause I don’t serve synths here.” She continued. 

I bought some canned food and water and made my way off quickly. She was very on edge and made me uncomfortable with that dagger stare. Why was everyone so scared paranoid of synths here. 

While Arturo was putting the finishing touches on my armor, I took the opportunity to brush up on my spanish. I’m not fluent by any means, but he was the only person I’ve met in the Commonwealth that is. He seemed pleased at my attempts to hold a conversation in broken spanish. Arturo did a great job on the repairs quickly. I thanked him profusely, and headed out to save Nick.


	2. Of Workbenches and Raider Bitches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick flashback of a midnight transaction in Sanctuary and raiders doing what raiders do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Graphic Violence and Sexual Content

The Park Street Station was fairly close to Diamond city. I heard a guard mention something about a dangerous bird at the pond near the entrance to the station. Out of all the dangers in the wasteland, I think I’d prefer to fight a bird. I had my favorite modded 10mm in my hands prepared for any enemies. It had a hardened receiver, a light barrel, comfort grips, quick magazine, and glow sights. Sturges helped with the majority of the modifications in exchange for some personal favors. I can still feel the warmth of his hands on my back, lifting me onto the empty workbench. My legs scraping against the cool metal while Sturges shoved his hands under my flannel shirt. I freed him hungrily from his pants and pushed my tongue past his lips. He has surprisingly plump lips, and his aroma of work grease was intoxicating. I had never done anything out in the open like that, but everyone except the guard at the entrance of Sanctuary was asleep. Sturges was quite the gentleman in public, but he bucked like a bronco in private. I remember having to nurse some bruises on my thighs and an ache in my throat, while Sturges needed me to wash up some scratches on his back.  
Dogmeat sent out an alarm bark, waking me from my day dream. A shot whizzed past my head, clipping my ear. I cried out at the sting and subsequent dripping of blood down my neck. Dogmeat took off at the offender hiding behind a car. He sank his teeth into the raiders arm and tugged it hard enough to mangle the tissue. The sleeve of his shirt ripped at Dogmeat’s tugging. I could see punches at least an inch deep from his initial bite, and then the gashes resulting from the dragging. I aimed for the raider’s head while Dogmeat had his attention. Before I could get my shot out he planted a kick right into his forehead, sending him backward in a ear piercing whine. Seeing red, I put 3 shots into his head and ran over to give Dogmeat a stimpak. The raider’s skull was shattered completely from the bullets and landing on a rock. It was a bloody mess on the rusted car, ground, and on Dogmeat. His muzzle was completely covered in blood also. Some of his own leaked from a gash between his eyes from the raider’s kick. I quickly tented some skin on his neck and gave him the shot. The stimpak did its magic and Dogmeat was back on his feet, but was growling at the building near us. The fighting alerted the rest of the gang to our location. I hopped over the hood of the car to take cover as more bullets rained around us. This time Dogmeat stayed at my side. We were used to fighting together by now. He knew that once I took cover, he needed to come close to me to fend off melee combatants and stay out of firing range. A woman with a long scar down her face and clown makeup on was wielding a bat came running toward us fast. I put a shot in her right leg before she made it around the car. Dogmeat clamped down on her bat and drug it toward the ground. She didn’t let go of it and tried to pry it back from him. I seized the tug-of-war opportunity and sent a round through her ear. Her body hit the ground in a lifeless thump and deep red blood puddled around her head. I hating killing because I was a doctor before the war, but since that was the only way to survive I took it upon myself to kill as quickly and painlessly as possible. I practiced with Preston for months to perfect headshots.   
Another two raiders were making their way to the car screaming about what they were going to do to my dead body. It seemed that many raiders were necrophiliacs based on the common threads of insults I got from them. One raider was a blonde woman in cage armor with a shotgun in hand. The other a man about 6 feet tall with facial tattoos and a bat wrapped in barbed wire. I would rather take my chances with a shotgun then have my eyes ripped out with that bat, so I turned my attention to him first. I gave Dogmeat a command to hide under the car to protect him from the blonde raider. The man jumped over the hood and swung the bat at my head. I was able to dunk just in time, some of my hair getting clipped. I darted out for under his arms and shot at his legs. Crippling enemies is always a good idea, but especially for brutes like this. If he can’t move, he can’t strike. He shouted when my third shot went through a knee cap, sending him crashing to the ground. Dogmeat took the cue to come out and went for the man’s throat. I watched as his canines plunged into the man's vulnerable neck. Dogmeat gave a twist before ripping the trachea and esophagus out of the man. Blood came out in spurts, landing on my legs and Dogmeat’s face. The raider let out choked sounds at the pain, tears down his eyes. The look he gave me was pleading. He must have been fearful of death. I watched the life fade from his eyes, like a light bulb dimming before it pops. That was all it took to distract me from the female raider aiming her gun at me. A shot ran out with bullets puncturing the car. I felt burning in my arm as I turned and shot blindly toward the direction of the gun fire. Several shots landed in various parts of the raider. She sat on the ground trying to load her gun. Shotgun reloading takes too long though and Dogmeat was at her throat before I could fire another round. With the threat eliminated, I sat behind the cleaner side of the vehicle and inspected my arm. I was lucky that the bullet passed through the side, missing anything too important. I injected a stimpak to stop the bleeding and bandaged the wound. Dogmeat let out a whimper and licked my hand, thankfully he licked himself clean of the blood beforehand. He seemed reassured after a few chin rubs. I took out a purified can of water from my bag, taking a few gulps for myself and pouring the rest into a bowl for Dogmeat. Fights like this are all too common in this new world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be much longer and feature everyone's favorite detective. Please let me how you liked, or didn't like, this chapter.


	3. Damsel in a Coat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rescuing Nick

Shit. I looked down at my bloodied arm. One of the triggermen had gotten four rounds in me before I could take him out. I couldn’t really feel all of the pain yet because of the adrenaline coursing through my veins. How many men are in this gang? I’ve already took out seven and I’m barely halfway through this place, according to my pipboy. After doing an assessment on Dogmeat, he appears to have a broken front left leg and three shots on the right hindquarter. I’m lucky that the stimpaks are able to mend bones, otherwise I’d be carrying Dogmeat out of here now and having to leave Nick. I don’t even know if he is here, alive, or what he looks like. What if I go through all of this just to come up empty?   
I took a seat in what appears to have been an office space to have a breather with Dogmeat. We both needed some water from all the running. I took the opportunity to search through a terminal on the desk, and glance through some of the entries. They appeared to all be from Skinny Malone’s gang. There were locations for hideouts, targets, and inventory. I’m surprised they would leave such sensitive data unlocked. Looking around the room, I found some stimpaks and duct tape to take. In the distance, I could hear the footsteps of more of Skinny Malone’s goons. No doubt they noticed half their crew missing. I crouched by the door, hushing Dogmeat’s growl. The only thing Dogmeat lacks it the ability to be completely silent. Three men walked by the door. Two bat wielding ghouls and one man with a submachine gun. That gunner would have to be the first taken out because I can’t risk another gunshot in my arm without permanent damage. Dogmeat can handle one of the ghouls on his own, but I’ll be at full risk of attack from the other.   
Time to make a plan was over, I aimed my 10mm and delivered two rounds to the shooter’s head. Dogmeat bulleted to one of the ghouls before they had time to process what was happening. He plunged himself onto the man’s bat wielding arm, the force of the impact sending his arm into an unnatural position with the uncanny snapping of bone. Just as expected, the second ghoul was running straight toward me. I didn’t have time to aim well, and both of my shoots missed. I managed to roll away from the swing of his bat, but found myself stuck in the room. The ghoul gave me a crooked smile, his skin taunt and eyes pitch black. His laugh assaulted my ears, its horse tone making my skin crawl.   
“Where is Nick?” I shouted, needing to buy some time.  
“That old dick? What are you, his rescuer?” He croaked.  
“Is he alive, you fucking zombie?” I taunted.  
“Oh now you’re really gonna get it!” He yelled, raising his bat for a powerful strike.   
He crashed into the wall from a furry bullet. Dogmeat looked up at me happy of his work. The ghoul was unconscious from hitting his head on the wall. Not wanting to spill any more blood than necessary, I tied him up tight to the office chair. I walked out the door, having to step over the mess that was the other ghoul. His throat was torn out, both arms broken and mangled, and his bat on the opposite side of the hall. It is easy to forget that Dogmeat wasn’t just a pet, but lived a life as a mongrel in the wastes that had to perfect his offense to survive.   
“How you doin’ in there Valentine?” A voice echoed off the walls of a large room. I could see the shapes of two men.  
“Better than you Dino. What was it in Skinny’s black book? Lying cheat Dino, with three strikes?” Another voice said, muffled as I began to sneak up the stairwell.   
“WHAT?! Ah shit I gotta clear this up, I didn’t-” I cut off Dino’s sentence with a single bullet to the head. His skull rupturing and brain matter spraying across the glass window. I ran up to the terminal, quickly hacking it to open the metal door. I entered the room, Dogmeat at my heels.   
“Gotta love the irony of the reverse damsel-in-distress scenario. Question is, why did our heroine risk life and limb for an old private eye?” Nick asked. I was taken aback by this appearance. Synthetic skin was torn around metal parts and wires. His yellow glowing eyes piercing through me. Dogmeat sensed my unease and gave me a lick on the hand to make me feel more comfortable.   
“My son Shaun is missing. He was kidnapped, but I don't know who took him, or where they went.” I sputtered out finally. Nick seemed to catch on to my shock.   
“Never seen a synth before huh? I can help you find your son, but not in this Vault. It won’t be long before Skinny Malone realizes muscle-for-brains isn’t coming back.”   
“Of course, let’s get out of here.” With that, we darted out of the room to the next hallway. Nick began working on a locked door leading to the cafeteria.  
“So how did you know where I was?” He asked.  
“Your secretary Ellie told me. She was worried something had happened to you. I’m glad I got here in time.”   
“Me too. Guess she deserves a raise for sending an abled woman to rescue me.” He smirked. “Hold up. There are three men up ahead, how do you want to handle this?”   
I thought about it for a second. Sneaking may not be possible because they seemed to be moving toward us. Two triggermen and one with a cedar bat. Guns blazing isn’t the best idea because Dogmeat would be vulnerable to getting shot.   
“We’re going to stay crouched here, out of sight until the men walk a little closer. You take the man on the right, I’ll take the one on the left. Dogmeat will rush the man with the bat. He’ll disable him enough for both of us to shoot him down. Just make sure your shots land because Dogmeat will almost certainly get shot if we can’t take out those triggermen first.” I decided.   
“Good strategy doll.” He said. I blushed. No one has called me a doll before, and hearing him say it seemed pleasant.   
“Now.” I whispered.   
Nick pulled the trigger first and myself following. Dogmeat ran to the bat, but this time something was wrong. The ghoul holding it chucked the bat at him, sending Dogmeat flying back with blood splatting on the tiled ground.   
“YOU FUCKER!” I screamed while unloading my clip into his torso. I was so overwhelmed at seeing Dogmeat down I didn’t notice he was dead by the third shot. I ran over to Dogmeat, not caring if there were other men running toward us from my yell. I pulled out my last stimpak, falling to my knees, and injected it into Dogmeat. He stood up at the relief. I gave him a big hug around the neck, not wanting to let go. I took in the wet dog smell he always seemed to have, not caring about the bloodied fur rubbing off on my face. I was so relieved he was okay, I couldn’t handle losing him so early.   
“You seem really attached to the pooch.” Nick said.  
“He was the first friend I made since escaping vault 111. I would risk my life for him any day. In fact, I am now since that was my last stimpak.” I said sheepishly to him.   
“Well we’ll be careful not to get some bullets hole then.” He replied. We walked in silence to another locked door, managing to avoid any more fighting. “Skinny Malone should be behind this door. His name is...kinda ironic, so don’t let him see you make the face you did at me.” He said.   
“Oh. I’m sorry about that Nick. I’ve always been told I can’t control my face. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” I replied.   
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve been getting looks like that since the Institute threw me out. Here we go, door’s unlocked.” With that a click was heard and the door began to open.   
“Nicky? What're you doin'? You come into my house. Shoot up my guys. You have any idea how much this is gonna set me back?” A porky man in a gangster suit exclaimed.   
“I wouldn't be here if it weren't for your two-timing dame, Skinny. You ought to tell her to write home more often.” Nick responded.  
“Awww... poor little, Valentine. Ashamed you got beat up by a girl? I'll just run back home to daddy, shall I?” A nasally, skinny woman in a sequin dress shouted.   
“Look, I don’t know who you guys are but Nick and I are leaving this vault now.” I said.   
“And who are you? Nick’s dick in training?” Skinny replied.  
For some reason I took some offense to the comment. “Actually that sounds like fun. Say Darla, you seem like the kind of girl that could use some help looking for a reason to be with this wannabe mob boss.” I said snarky.   
“Hey what the fuck do you think your doing talking to my girl like that?” Skinny asked, grasping at his gun.   
“Come on Darla, this isn’t the life you want for yourself. You got a loving family back home worried about you. You could be enjoying your time with them and finding an honest man, not held up in some cramped old vault with this pig.” I persuaded.   
“Alright I’ve had enough of y-”   
“SHUT UP SKINNY.” Darla interrupted, “She has a point. I hate being held up here with your goons. I’m going home.” With that she turned heel and began walking away.   
“Oh, come on, Nicky! You cost me my men, now you and your friend cost me my girl?” Skinny said. “My friend here just did you a favor, Skinny. You always did have bad taste in women. Now that she's not around to feed that temper of yours, maybe you'll see sense and let us walk? You still owe me for two weeks in the hole.”  
“Just get out of my sight, the both of yous.” He conceded.   
We ran toward the exit, not wanting to risk Skinny Malone changing his mind. Once outside and safe, Nick turned to me.  
“I’m surprised you managed to talk Darla into going home without making Skinny Malone attack us afterward.” He said.   
“Well I was always good at selling drowning men water.” I joked, Nick giving a laugh in response.   
“Now let’s get back to my office and start going over the details of your son’s kidnapping.” 

……….

I was sitting in the smoke stained yellow chair in Nick’s agency. He sat across from me, a pencil in his hand an a folder in front of him. He asked me to start at the beginning, but I choked up. Thinking about how to even say what happened felt like reliving it all over again. I felt the tears building up behind my eyes and felt the dam break as I opened my mouth.   
“My husband and I were frozen in vault 111, right as the bombs fell. It was a cryogenics lab. We didn’t know. My husband was holding my infant son, Shawn.” I began to sob, “there...there were these men dressed in biohazard suits. They released the pod and, and,” I choked.   
“It’s okay, take your time sweetie.” Ellie said.   
“My husband wouldn’t hand him over. A bald man with a scar on his left eye. He-He shot him. Killed Nate right in front of me. I couldn’t get out of my pod. The bastard walked right up to me and called me the back-up. Before I knew it, the pods were turned back on and I was frozen again. There was a failure that let me out and killed all the other vault residences. I’ve only been out about 10 months now.” I managed to finish.   
“Ellie, check our files on Kellogg.” Nick requested, extending his hand over to me and taking my hand. He gave me a comforting squeeze, no doubt trying to get the tears to stop streaming down my face. I must have looked a wreck.  
“The description matches. Scar, mercenary type, known to be a murderer.” Ellie started. “He had a kid with him here in Diamond city, but vanished about a month ago.”   
“That has to be Shawn.” I said.  
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Nick said, “your looking for an infant, not a kid. We’ll pay a visit to the abandoned house to look for clues. Ellie, close up the shop for me.”   
“Wait,” she said to me, grabbing my arm. “I know I didn’t offer it, but here’s some caps for rescuing Nick and saving my job. I hope you find your son.” She handed me a satchel of caps.   
“Thanks Ellie, I appreciate it.” I replied, and head out the building with Nick.   
As we walked to the darker side of the city, Nick confided in me, “I didn’t want to say this in front of Ellie but from what I’ve dug up on Kellogg, he is nothing but bad news. His MO is to take on missions that even the gunners won’t take and leave no survivors. I’m not sure why he would leave you alive, but I know he is our guy.”   
“Wherever this bastard is, we’ll find him and I’ll lodge a bullet in his skull.” I said coldly, my tears dried on my face.   
“Let’s be cautious.” Nick said, looking a little shocked at my response to him. “Here we are, that lock is too much, even for me. Why don’t you head over to the mayor’s office and try to get the key.” He suggested.   
“Alright, I’ll be right back.” I assured him. Dogmeat laid down by the door, yawning and leaving me to go out on my own. I wasn’t mad at him because I knew he was beat from his injuries today.   
…  
“I’m sorry ma’am, but here at Diamond City we take our resident’s privacy very seriously.” The mayor refused my request.   
“Please, he kidnapped my son.” I pleaded.  
“I’m sorry but I can’t invade Mr. Kellogg’s privacy for an alleged kidnapping. I’ll need some proof.” He said coldly.   
“Fine.” I stated, and stormed out. I went to the receptionist in a last try to get the keys. “Please. He took my son. It’s even an abandoned house.” I said.   
“I feel for you miss,” She responded. “I’m going to leave the house keys here on my desk and make my way home. The guards are in a change of shift right now. If they end up missing, I’ll forget to make a report.” She said to me with a wink.   
“Bless you, I’ll find a way to repay you.” With that, I took the keys and made my way back to Nick. Once inside the house, we found cigars and beer we could use to track him. He seemed to have left in a hurry, leaving behind some great supplies for me to take with me. Nick didn’t object to it.   
“Dogmeat should be able to track his scent off these,” Nick said while reaching out a cigar to Dogmeat. He took several sniffs, barked, and pawed at the door. We ran behind him out of Diamond City, on Kellogg’s trail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, will Olivia find Kellogg and her son?


	4. Snap, Crackle, Pop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kellogg and Olivia meet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please get my lame cereal reference from the title. I have depression.

We were here at Fort Hagen. If Kellogg was alive, he was in there. I made Dogmeat stay behind to rest at the block entrance of the fort, under cover. He was content with a can of cram. Nick and I made our way up to the roof entrance, avoiding detection of the turrets set up around the building. Nick demanded that I let him go in first in case there was danger right below. I wasn’t happy about him risking himself like that, but I didn’t argue. He must have felt like he owed me for saving him from vault 114.  
Immediately we could hear the robotic voices of Institute synths. Gen 1 and 2 from what Nick told me. They were patrolling around each room, and it was only a matter of time before their bioscanners would pick us up.  
“How should we handle this Nick?”  
“Normally I would avoid them altogether, but since that’s not an option we should just go guns blazing. They have laser weapons that will do some real damage. It’s not too bad on metal, but it will leave real bad burns on your skin. Let me take point and try to stay behind me as much as possible.”  
“I can’t let you be my shield Nick. You’ve already done more than enough by getting me here.”  
“Doll, my job isn’t done until you find your son.” I blushed again, this time not just because he called me doll but at his protective nature. I think he noticed because I saw the slightest up turn in the corner of his mouth. Nick took the lead and started firing at the first synth in the room. His plated face popped off at the first shot, but was returning fire. I landed a bullet into his shoulder, knocking the laser pistol out of its hand. The synth rush toward us, even after Nick shot off both arms. It rammed into Nick, pushing him into me. I tumbled over and my gun flew out of my hand after I hit the ground.  
"Damn it!" I yelled.  
Nick shot two more rounds into its head, finally dropping it.  
"You okay Olivia?" He asked, concern plain on his face.  
"Yeah, just a bit sore now. I've been through worse." I replied, "let's get the rest of those bastards."  
The next room had three synths. One appeared to have more plating and a modded laser pistol. I unloaded a clip into one synth and Nick the other, leaving the more decorated one standing. It's pistol fired automatic, landing one shot into my left arm. I screamed as I felt my skin began to curl at the heat. Nick looked over at me with panic in his eyes. Frantically he shoved me out of firing range and shot at the synth until it hit the floor.  
"Are you okay?" He asked.  
"Not really," I responded, "I think my suit took up most of the energy damage, but I'm burned pretty bad." I looked over at my arm. My vault suit had disintegrated in the area of the shot. My skin was darkened and I could smell the burnt flesh. I wouldn't be able to judge the degree until I had time to thoroughly inspect it.  
"Let's just get a move on. I feel like a sitting duck right now." I said. 

…

After fighting our way through several more rooms and hallways, I was the worse for wear. My left arm was burnt, my leather pads on my shoulders were destroyed, and I had received one hell of a shock from a shock baton. Nick only got one hit to the leg and a sizable hole in his trench coat.  
"I'm starting to think you're just unlucky." Nick said, clearly trying to lighten my mood to get my mind off my painful burn.  
"Well I can't be great at everything now. Have to make compromises somewhere." I responded.  
"Oh? Do go on." He replied.  
"Well when you have a tongue as gifted as mine you don't need brute strength and luck to get through life." I said, then immediately regretted how unintentionally sexual it sounded. Nick just laughed in response.  
We had been hearing Kellogg over the intercom on this last stretch of hall. He thought he could intimidate me into turning around and leaving. My hate for him overrode any fear I had. I felt it eat at me since Nate was shot, like a fire burning so hot that I could burst into flame any second. I was just one more door away from that murdering bastard. Nick grabbed my shoulder when I reached for the door.  
"Look Olivia. I know this is the moment you've been waiting for since waking up, but don't let the vengeance ruin your chance to get the information you need. Don't forget I'm here with you, backing up whatever you decide to do."  
"Thanks Nick. I won't be rash."  
Kellogg stood in the middle of the room, which had a lot of machinery in it. Synths were spread around the room.  
“And there he is. The most resilient woman in the Commonwealth.” Kellogg spoke, seeming amused.  
“You murdering, kidnapping psychopath. Give me my son. Give me Shaun! Now!” I yelled.  
“Right to it then, huh? Okay. Fine. Your son, Shaun. Great kid. A little older than you may have expected, but I'm guessing you figured that out by now. But if you're hoping for a happy reunion? Ain't gonna happen, pal. Your boy's not here.” He replied.  
“Where is he you sick bastard?” I spat.  
“Shaun's in a good place. Where he's safe, and comfortable, and loved. A place he calls home. The Institute. Let him go. Your time's done. Your son is exactly where he belongs.” He answered.  
“Fuck you.” I said while quickly shooting my gun at Kellogg. I hit his arm before he suddenly turned invisible. The synths immediately turned hostile, and Nick and I ran for cover by a machine covered with dials.  
“Nick I need you to handle those synths for me. I’m going to get Kellogg.” I said, holstering my gun and grabbing the combat knife strapped to my right calf.  
“I can keep them off you, but why are you going to use your knife?” He asked, lasers spraying around us.  
“I’m not able to see him from a distance while he’s cloaked, but if I can get close I’ll catch the light bending around him. I just need to avoid getting shot while trying to get close enough to strike.” I replied.  
“That sounds too risky Olivia. He’ll gun you down before you get there.” Nick stated.  
“Look Nick, this isn’t up for debate. Take this cryo grenade and toss it toward those metal bastards to get their attention. I know Kellogg is on our right from the sound of his gun. I’ll make it back to you, I promise. Now GO!” I rolled out from cover, Nick sending the grenade through the air, temporarily freezing some of the synths. He shot as fast as he could to keep their attention off me. I darted from desks to machines to cover myself while trying to find where Kellogg is. A shot buzzed by my head, coming from the left of my location. I turned to the sound of more shots coming toward me and could see a glimmer of light. It was Kellogg in the corner, just barley in my sight. I made a beeline toward him, avoiding getting my head blown off but taking a shot to my right leg. My adrenaline was rushing too hard for it to stop my run, but I could feel the tears instinctively running down my face. I swung my knife toward him, making contact with his dominant arm. I could see the blood trailing down him. Before he could get his gun aimed back at me, I tackled him to the ground. The impact caused his cloak to glitch and made him completely visible. He tried to get me off him by landing a punch to my face. I kept my grip on him, but my vision blurred from the impact. No doubt I had a concussion now.  
Kellogg took the opening to grab me by the waist and use his brute strength to roll on top of me. I thrashed under his body, disturbed at the look he gave me. He was actually intimidating me. I’ve never had a man press on me like this in any context outside of sex. I’m not strong enough to get out from under him, but I still had my knife. He wouldn’t be able to shoot me with both hands keeping me pinned. I headbutted him to make him release enough grip to free my arm. I made a blind swing of my knife, unable to see from the crashing of our skulls. He threw himself backwards, avoiding my blade. I threw myself back at him to take control of our tussle. He grabbed his gun from the floor and aimed it to me. I slashed my knife to his throat at the same time that a shot rang out from his gun. I felt an intense pain in my stomach and a warm sensation running down myself. Kellogg made a sputtered laugh, blood pouring from his mouth and neck.  
“You may be the most resilient woman in the Commonwealth, but I’m the most dangerous man.” He managed to choke out before the light behind his eyes extinguished.  
I felt the blood rushing out of me, my body becoming cold quickly. I was never good at defending myself in close combat. The taste of iron and the numbing of my midsection told me I was dying. I tried to move myself off of Kellogg’s body to inject a stimpak, but collapsed onto the ground. My arms were too heavy to move. I heard Nick yell out to me when I hit the ground, but I couldn’t bring myself to respond with anything other than a cough. My vision was beginning to fade as Nick’s silhouette came into view.  
“Stay with me Olivia!” He shouted. “I got some stimpaks, I’m not letting you die on me. Think about your son. He’s alive and we’re going to find him. Don’t let this be your ending, you’ve come too far.” Nick pleaded, “Please don’t let go.”  
It was the last thing I heard before losing consciousness.


	5. Autumn’s Embrace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Nate on Olivia action

Boston was great this time of year. The cool fall breeze flowing through the orange trees. Nate and I loved going to the park to watch the sunset. We sat on a bench and looked to the skies. We had just found out that we were having a boy, and Nate was listing out names. We wanted to use a family name. His father’s name was Shaun and my father was Jacob. I didn’t mind letting Nate pick out our son’s name, because I was going to name our next child. I’m hoping for a girl next to name after my mother, Rosanne. The park began to clear out as the sun set.   
“Why don’t we head over to our tree?” Nate asked me with a devious smile.   
“Oh? And why would we do that?” I said, playing coy.   
“I can think of several reasons dear.” He replied, placing his head on mine and taking in the smell of my hair. He loved the berry infused shampoo I used. He told me before that it made him want to eat me, and often he did. Nate took me by the hand and led me to a large oak tree, surrounded by bushes. This was the spot where we conceived our baby shortly after Nate got back home from deployment. I was so happy his contract was over before this war got any worse.   
Nate took my face in his hands, using a finger to twist a loose curl. He had a thing for curly hair, which I had plenty of since I’m biracial. He traced his hands down my back to my waist, pulling me into him. I could feel the strength of his biceps from the embrace and traced my own hands down his abs. Although I never wanted to be a military wife, I enjoyed the muscular side effects of being a soldier. Nate lifted me up and carefully laid me out on the ground. The grass was soft under my head. He began kissing my neck and stroking my sides. I loved the way he made love. Nate was the kind of man that could give me the wild passionate sex I wanted, and the soft tender loving I needed.   
I rubbed my hands up and down his back, taking in each robust muscle under my fingertips. Nate gave me a groan as I made my way up into his hair. He had the most amazing jet black hair, and pulling at it was his biggest turn on. I felt his breath get hot on my neck, picking up its pace. On my thigh I could feel his engorged member twitch. I gave him a small laugh as I reached my hand down into his trousers. He lurched when my hand met his shaft, beginning a light stroke. We enjoyed the rush of public sex like this, the idea that we could get caught. It made me feel naughty, and himself macho.   
Nate freed my breast from my top, tracing his lips around my mounds. I gasped at the contrast of the warmth of his mouth and the crisp air around us. I didn’t know if I could take much more of this foreplay without bursting, so I freed him from his zipper. Nate gave me a chuckle.   
“All in good time love.” He said, drawing a whine from my throat.   
He then moved himself to my stomach, showering my baby bump with kisses. He caressed my stomach, a goofy smile spreading across his face. Nate had been expressing that raw joy to me since the moment we confirmed my pregnancy at the clinic. He moved his hands down to my skirt, raking his hands up my legs and thighs while lifting it up to my panties. I’m sure he could see that I already soaked through them, given the devilish look in his eyes. He leaned himself down on top of me, and pressed himself inside. It felt like I was drowning and just had my head lifted above water.   
Nate began at a painfully slow rate. I knew he wanted to tease me into begging and I had no problem obliging. Feeling the heat build up in my sex and cheeks, I began to feed into his desires. I pleaded with him to pick up the pace, anything for more friction. Being the gentleman he was, Nate obliged and began to buck into me. I pushed my face into his neck so I could stifle my moans, and God did I have so many. It should be illegal how Nate always knew how to hit my g-spot with every stroke, which probably isn’t too difficult for him given his endowment.   
I could feel the pressure inside me build to the breaking point. Involuntarily tightening down on him, I tightened my grip on his back and ass. Nate sensed how close I was and pushed into me even farther, bottoming out. That was all I needed to finish. My insides locked down on him and I let out an audible cry. Nick withdrew himself, and brought his face between my legs. He lapped at the moisture he forced out of me. It was his prize for a job well done. Once he satisfied his thirst, he returned himself to our horizontal tango. It only took a few more pumps for him to climax, his warmth flowing inside me. I looked up into his eyes, his love reaching to my soul.   
“Olivia?” He questioned. I was confused as his eyes began to shift into a yellow glow. “Olivia are you with me?” The landscape around us blurred out and was replaced by a dim light metal room. “Olivia, please come back to me,” Nick’s voice rang out, Nate disappearing from me. In his place Nick hovered above me. I could make out the concern on his synthetic face. “Olivia it’s okay. Doc Sun got you all patched up.” He continued.   
I took a moment to look around, releasing we were in the surgery center.   
“You had a concussion and Kellogg’s bullet went through your intestines, but you’re going to be okay now.” Nick assured.   
“Yes well, don’t go ruining my work anytime soon. You’ll need to rest for two weeks before you’re able to travel again.” Doctor Sun grumpily stated.   
“Nick, Kellogg?” I asked.   
“He’s dead doll, you did it.” He smiled. “You gave this old machine a heart attack, but you took him out.”   
“Good.” I said, before drifting back out of consciousness, my head pounding.


	6. Valentine or Angel?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recovering with Valentine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this world Sheng has a bathhouse. It makes sense to me that the boy that runs the water purifier and is quite the entrepreneur would see the benefit to opening up a place for residents to wash, since no on has a working bathroom.

Nick lent me his bed at the detective agency while I was recovering. I tried to convince him to let me pay him, or let me rent out a room at the Dugout Inn but he wouldn’t hear it. It had been three days now, but I was far from out of the woods. My concussion was still giving me miserable headaches that even a full dose of Buffout wouldn’t touch. My stomach was sore and aching, the injury leaving me on an all liquid diet until my intestines could handle processing solid food. I was lucky the noodle stand always had so much broth available. Nick was an angel to me, changing my dressings and fetching food and water for me. He absolutely refused to let me move around beyond using the restroom and changing my clothes.   
“Doc Sun told me you need to wash up today. He doesn’t want your stitches building up too much dirt and oil from your skin.” Nick stated, sitting in a chair next to me.   
“Well that’s going to be quite a challenge since my strange protectron isn’t letting me walk around.” I smirked.  
“Ha, that’s a new one,” He replied, “but seriously, you will need assistance bathing.” Nick and I have been getting really close these past few days, sharing stories of our past and thoughts of the future. We had similar schools of thought, probably because we both were full of prewar memories.   
“Now now Nick, you weren’t planning on being a brute and stripping me down yourself now?” I teased.   
“Of course not, but I arranged a tub at Sheng’s to be ready for you in an hour. With your permission I'll take you over there and make sure no one bothers you.” Nick replied.   
“Getting chauffeured to a luxurious bath by a handsome detective? I think I’d like that.” I teased again. Nick seemed a bit shocked at my description of him, probably unsure if I was just being sarcastic or serious.   
“Well,” He coughed, “I wouldn’t want to disappoint a lady.” Nick was smirking, playing along with my joke. Although, if I’m being honest with myself, I have been feeling more than friendly emotions about him. I’m not sure if it’s his chivalrous demeanor, the fact he is caring for me, or the wet dream I had about Nate that was making me feel some type of way. I looked over at him while he was glancing over a case file. The torn flesh on his neck that exposed his machinery was a stark reminder that he was built, not born. Still, Nick was more human than most these days. I’m not even sure if he has all the parts to enjoy a sexual experience, but I’m sure he can have the emotions that follow. I pulled myself back from my thoughts by turning my attention to Dogmeat, who was chewing up a deflated rubber kickball. I’m not even sure were he found the damn thing, but I knew he couldn’t give me an answer.   
“He found that on the way back to the city,” Nick said as though he could read my mind, “The poor pooch was so worried about you he deflated it while you were in surgery.”   
“Oh that reminds me,” I said, “How much was that bill? I know it was a rather time consuming process.”   
“500 caps, but I put it on my tab with the Doc. He knows I’m good for it.” Nick answered.   
“I’ll get you the caps back Nick. I promise. I don’t like being such a burden on you, especially after everything you’ve done for me.” I replied.   
“You’re not a burden Olivia. You’re the first person I’ve met in the Commonwealth that put her life on the line for me without even knowing me. You also saved me from spending the rest of my life in that vault and took the time to actually talk to me about my thoughts and feelings. You’ve treated me as an equal and a friend from the start. The only person who ever saw me as anything other than a synth.” I could tell he meant every word of what he said, and feel the loneliness in his tone.   
“You’re just as human as me Nick,” I assured, grabbing his metallic hand in mine, “You need to know that.” Nick looked at me intensely without response. We stood there with our eyes locked for several silent moments before Ellie walked through the door.   
“Nick, we got some reports of-” She stopped her sentence short at the sight of us. Surely we must have looked like quite the couple. “I’ll j-just come back later.” She stammered while turning to leave the office.   
“Well that’s something.” Nick said.   
“Strange she would respond like that. We make too cute a couple for that kind of shocked reaction.” I laughed.   
“You’re quite the character you know.” Nick chuckled. “Now I think it’s time for that bath of yours.” He put my bag of soaps around my shoulder and moved his arms under my legs and back. I let out a startled sound as he lifted me to his chest. I had no idea how strong he actually was. I swear I could see a tiny smile on his face at my gasp.   
He carried me all the way to Sheng’s bathhouse, drawing some serious expressions from the city’s residents. I felt my face hot and red from the act of being carried in such a manner. I told him I could walk there if he lent me an arm, but he wouldn’t let me down. I started to think that he may have some more than friendly thoughts about me too. Once we entered the shack, he stood me next to a tub full of clean water.   
“Don’t worry about the cost of this,” He prematurely said, “it’s a treat, since I never got to properly thank you for saving me.”   
“Nick,” I whined, “this is a lot. You already saved me back.”   
“I don’t want to hear it Olivia.” He replied. Nick then turned his back to me to let me undress and slip into the tub with privacy.   
“You don’t have to keep your back to me,” I said, “I’d much prefer getting to look you in the eye while talking.” Nick hesitated before turning back toward me. He couldn’t actually see anything past my shoulders while I was in the tub, but I swear I could see him blushing.   
“I take it you enjoy an audience?” He asked.  
“Oh you have no idea.” I laughed, thinking back to all the park sex Nick and I enjoyed back at Sanctuary.   
“You’re lucky I’m not like the average drifter who would take advantage of you in this...compromised state.” Nick replied.   
“I’m not so sure about that Nicky,” I said in the best flirting tone I could muster with my headache, “I might enjoy being taken advantage of right now.”  
Nick let out a surprised cough at my bold statement and my use of the term Nicky. He didn’t say a response, but I could tell I successfully flustered him. Honestly, I’m not completely sure why I was teasing him like this. Did I actually want to fuck him? I was rather curious about what he would be like because of those metallic parts. I turned to actually washing myself now to take my mind off the fact I turned myself on. I reached over to my shampoo I made from a bar of soap that I cooked with mashed tarberry and mutfruit. It was as close as I could get to the scent that Nate loved so much. It was my way of keeping a piece of him with me, aside from wearing our wedding rings on a necklace over my vault suit. I leaned myself back into the water to wet my hair, accidentally exposing my breasts above the water. Nick must have noticed because he quickly turned himself away from me and back to facing the wall.   
The cool water felt great on my skin. I could see the dirt and grim leaving my body and floating into the water. It had to have been a few weeks since I last washed, but it was common for people here to go months between baths. What I wouldn’t give for a hot shower in my old bathroom right now. I could smell the change from musk to fruit on myself, drawing out a smile. I stood out of the bath and carefully stepped onto the shack floor. A towel was waiting for me on a chair, which I quickly wrapped myself into before I started shivering. I dried myself off and used it has a head wrap. I slipped into a loose white blouse and a pair of trousers. I was lucky that my dresser back home wasn’t raided during my time on ice so I had some decent clothes to wear. My bra was simple, but visible through the top. I towel dried most of my hair so I wouldn’t be dripping the whole way to the detective agency, but I still had that wet look. Nate swore he loved the way I looked best when fresh out the shower because it showed more of the length of my hair.   
“All done now Mr. Valentine.” I mused. Nick turned back around and his eyebrows shot up. His mouth was slack like he paused just before speaking. It suddenly occurred to me that Nick has never seen me fresh like this or in such nice clothing. I felt a wave of embarrassment under Nick’s stare. He looked me up and down before clearing his throat.  
“You think you can handle walking back now?” He asked.   
“Of course.” I said in a low voice. With that we silently walked out together. Nick carried my bags for me so I wouldn’t have any extra weight. He let me set the pace, which was a stroll because I hurt with every footstep. As we got to the main walkway, a guard turned to me.   
“Well hello there sweetheart, what can I do for you?” He said with extra emphasis on the end.   
“Uh.” I replied, uncomfortable with the question. Nick must have picked up on the fact I tensed up.  
“She’s with me pal.” Nick sharply replied, and moved his arm around my shoulders.   
“What? With a synth?” The guard said in a disgusted tone.   
“Yeah now leave her alone.” Nick replied, gently pushing me toward his office.   
Once inside I took a seat and hesitantly asked, “Nick...did you mean that back there, or were you just saying that to get him to back off?”   
“Of course I meant it, you were walking with me.” Nick replied. For some reason I felt my heart sink in disappointment. I wanted him to mean it. I hung my head at the reply, offering a fake smile.   
“Of course. Thanks Nick.” I said. “I feel up to eating something more than broth. I could kill for some power noodles.”   
“I’ll go get you some, least more guards catcall you.” Nick replied.   
“I only find myself flustered by one person right now.” I said weakly as he headed out the door, sure he couldn’t hear me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourselves for some Olivia on Valentine action next chapter.


	7. Bullet from my Valentine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia returns to Sanctuary, but will her new found emotions toward Nick be reciprocated?

It has been two weeks now and Doctor Sun has cleared me to travel, but not to take on any dangerous missions. He got no argument from me because I was still sore in my stomach. I packed my bags up from Nick’s office, Dogmeat wagging his tail hard knowing we were hitting the road.   
“I’m headed back to Sanctuary to continue my resting before Preston begins to think I’m dead.” I said to Nick. “I would enjoy your company there, if you would want to.”   
“I could use some time out of the office.” Nick replied.   
“Great.” I smiled at him. I took a bath the day before, fresh and ready to hit the road. “I know of a way out of the area what avoids the major raider and mutant areas. Dogmeat will lead the way and alert us of any potential enemies.” With that, we headed out of the city that had been my home for two weeks.   
…  
As soon as I strolled through the gates of Sanctuary, a figure ran toward me and scooped me up in a bear hug.   
“General!” Preston exclaimed, “I thought something bad happened to you. You were gone so long.” He put me down.  
“Well…” I started while rubbing the back of my head, “I did kind of get a shot to my gut and ended up recovering in Diamond city for two weeks. I would have died if my friend Nick here didn’t take me to get help.”   
“Well then,” Preston started, “I’m glad you make friends everywhere you go. Thanks for taking care of my General Nick.” Preston said while shaking Nicks hands. “Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen.”   
“General you say?” Nick asked.   
“Olivia didn’t tell you? She rescued myself and a group of settlers from raiders and a deathclaw. She took us here and set up a camp for us, then traveled with me to gather allies in nearby settlements. She’s a hero here.” Preston replied.  
“Oh so you make a habit out of heroic rescues, don’t you General Olivia?” I felt a blush rush up my face at Nick’s comment.   
“Well you know me.” I shrugged sarcastically. “Preston, I found Kellogg thanks to Nick. The Institute has Shaun. We need to find a way in.”  
“Damn the Institute? Maybe if we can take back the Castle and gain more support, we’ll have the manpower and resources to figure out a way in.” Preston responded.   
“I was thinking the same thing Pres.” I said, suddenly very aware of Nick staring Preston down. “I won’t be up for any more fighting for a little while though while I finish recovering. I figured I would spend some time here and help out with some of the projects Sturges was working on.”   
“He’s at the workbench. He seemed to really miss you.” Preston said, innocent to the reason why he would.   
I made my way over to Sturges, introducing Nick to all the settlers that we came across so they wouldn’t turn hostile on him. Sturges was bent over the workbench crafting some weapons for the settlers. I could see the sweat dripped down his back and glistening on his muscular arms. His arms reminded me of Nate, and of course my panties were flooded.   
“Working hard still?” I said while leaned over his shoulder. He was sure to get my reference.   
“Oh you’re back!” He exclaimed, pulling my toward him with a tight embrace and planting a kiss on my cheek. I was taken aback by the sudden display of affection. “I was just putting the finishing touches on this pipe pistol for you. I knew you struggled with adjusting to it, so I added some comfort modifications for you.” Struges finally noticed Nick and jumped back, pulling out his gun.   
“Woah there bud,” I started, “this is Nick, he helped me find my husband’s killer. Now he’s here to help me find Shaun.”   
“Oh my bad pal,” He said while reaching out to shake his hand, “forgive me, can’t be too cautious out here.”   
“That’s alright, I can’t hold a grudge against everyone that’s pointed a gun at me.” Nick said. He had a disapproving look toward Sturges, but I’m not sure if it was because of the gun.   
“Well let me see that gun,” I said to break the awkwardness. “I know if you did it I’ll love it.” Sturges handed me the weapon with a goofy smile. I turned the corner while testing the grips. He wasn’t kidding when he said he made it more comfortable. It felt like he added some cushion from the old chairs lying around. I walked toward the makeshift firing range that Preston and I had built months ago. Nick and Sturges followed behind me. I lifted the gun to aim at the bottles sitting on the bar. I took a deep breath and shot out 5 rounds on the exhale. Each bullet found a glass bottle, sending glass shattering into the air.   
“Wow. This definitely isn’t the same gun as before. What did you add? Hair trigger and comfort grips?” I asked.   
“Exactly that, plus the updated sights.” Sturges replied proudly. Nick looked impressed at my aim, but the look quickly changed after Sturges spoke.   
“Thanks Sturges,” I said while giving him a peck on the cheek, “I’ll treasure it.”   
“It’s nothing.” He replied.   
…

Nick and I settled in for the night in my house. I had boarded up most of the windows and fixed up all the bedrooms. I converted the laundry room into a storage area with locked safes, and had a bathtub and pail in the bathroom to make it functionable. I had made a large bed out of two smaller ones, but pushed them apart so Nick could have his own. He still had a sour look on his face.   
“Does thou roboman have a bad taste in thy mouth?” I joked.   
“Huh?” Nick replied, “Oh, it’s nothing. Just caught up in my thoughts.”   
“Not thoughts of jealousy I hope.” I teased.  
“What would make you think that?” He asked.   
“Oh just the daggers you shot at Preston for lifting me up, and glaring at Sturges.” I continued.   
“I don’t know what you’re talking about doll,” he stated.   
“Oh and now he plays coy. You have an amazing range of facial expressions that you can’t hide, you know that?” I taunted. Nick didn’t respond, but looked at me with a rather unreadable expression. I reached my hand on his arm and closed the distance between us. “What’s actually going on Nick? I’ve been with you long enough to know when you need to talk.”   
“You really do know how to push my buttons, huh?” He caved.  
“Well it’s easy when the machinery is exposed.” I mocked, touching my free hand up to the exposed metal of his neck. He closed his eyes and removed my hand from his neck.   
“I don’t think Sturges would approve of you touching me like this.” He said flat.   
“Is that what’s bothering you Nicky?” I asked, “I’m a single lady. I didn’t expect you to care though. You seemed to pass up my passes back in Diamond city.”   
“I…” Nick stuttered, “I’m not sure how to express these feelings I have for you. I’ve never had any feeling like this, for anybody. Hell, I didn’t even know I could have these emotions.”   
I grabbed his hands and pulled them to my chest. “Nick, you can talk to me. I promise I’ll help you figure it out.”   
Nick just looked in my eyes, like he was searching for answers to his own emotions. Before I knew it, he leaned down and locked lips with me. It was an awkward attempt at a kiss, but still much appreciated.   
“Was that helpful?” I asked, eyes wide.   
“I’m not sure.” He replied.   
“Well we can test this some more.” I said before pulling him down toward me , standing on my toes to reach his mouth. I gave him an experienced kiss, as passionate as I could make it in the moment. Nick took a few moments to reciprocate, but when he did I could feel sparks. Maybe they were real sparks given that he was a machine, but it didn’t matter to me. Nick slowly brought a hand to my lower back, pulling my closer to him. I traced my hands up his back up to his head, encouraging him to continue. We continued like this for a minute before Nick broke.   
“That was, incredible.” He said breathlessly.   
“It doesn’t have to stop there.” I flirted, pulling his hips into mine.  
“Olivia, I-I don’t know what I’m doing.” He replied, “Surely you aren’t really attracted to me. You don’t want this beat up metallic detective to-to”   
“I do Nick.” I interrupted, “but not if you don’t want to and are uncomfortable. I may be a flirt, but I don’t pressure people into anything.”   
“I don’t know if I can, I mean how to.” He stammered, “What I’m trying to say is, I want you to be happy Olivia. I don’t think you can do that with me holding you back.”   
“Are you hearing yourself Nick?” I responded, “Nick...I-I think I lo-”   
“I’m going to stop you there.” Nick interrupted. “There are at least two men here that seem interested in you, that could give you a more normal life. I’m just a synth the Institute decided to throw out like garbage. I can’t give you the life that any man could, the life I would want for you. I’m going back to Diamond city to dig up more information about the Institute. You just need some time away from me to see the options you have.” Nick continued. I could feel the tears coming down my face. “It’s for the best.” He ended while darting out the door. I stood frozen. I’ve never had a man or woman reject me like this after we kissed. I didn’t know if I wanted to scream, cry, or have a rebound fuck to be able to sleep. I must have made some audible cries because I got a knock on my door. I opened it to see Preston.   
Hey General, sorry to bother you so late but I just had an idea for our plan of attac-” He stopped, looking at my tear soaked face. “Olivia, what’s wrong?” He questioned.   
“It’s complicated...I’m just having a rough night.” I responded.   
“Is there anything I can do? This plan can wait until the morning.” Preston replied.   
“Actually, there is something you can do. If you don’t mind, I don’t want to sleep alone tonight.” I stated.   
“Oh of course General. I always sleep better when there’s others in the room too.” He responded, making his way to my bedroom. I’m lucky Preston is still rather young and naive to the idea of sharing a room with a woman. He took off his coat and hat, stripping down to his undershirt and boxers. This was a view I was used to because of all the traveling we did together. I won’t lie to myself and say I didn’t enjoy it, but tonight I couldn’t bring myself to any thoughts besides Nick.


	8. Of Sweet and Sour Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sweet men and sour moments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possible trigger for anyone that has panic attacks

Preston woke me up in the morning to talk about his plan to take back the Castle. Scouts said it was crawling with Mirelurks, so we’ll have to decide on a frontal attack or to take them from the sides. I preferred to sneak up the walls of the Castle and fire down, like shooting fish in a barrel. Preston seemed fine with letting me decide. I think he wanted me to be General because he doesn’t like the pressure of leading.   
“Hey Preston, you up to some hunting?” I asked. He looked up seemingly confused.   
“What do you mean? Aren’t you too injured for that?” He replied.   
“I think I can manage a rifle from a distance. Besides, I’m tired of just resting all day. I need some excitement, a distraction.” I answered.   
“Well I guess it’s okay if I go with you.” He responded, and grabbed two hunting rifles from the community gun rack.   
We traveled for about half an hour to the north of Sanctuary, where some ragstags are known to frequent. As expected, there was a family of two stags, four does, and three fawns.   
“We’re going for that smaller stag.” I told Preston.   
“Sounds good to me. Should be easy for us both to drag back.” He replied, crouching near a bush beside me. I’m ashamed to admit that I felt flustered at the heat of his body next to mine like this. It was too similar to the positions that Nate and I found ourselves in before fucking in the woods. Preston was too busy aiming his rifle to notice me staring at his crotch, wondering just how big he might be. A shot flew out of his rifle with a bang, sending the herd scattering. He hit the stag in the hindquarters, enough to slow him down but not drop him. I aimed for the head to try for a quick kill. My shoulder ached at the buck of the rifle, my stomach protesting the movement. The stag hit the ground, lifeless.   
“Great shot!” Preston exclaimed, look to me excited.   
“Thanks, but it’s not over yet.” I replied while pulling my gun back up. The larger stag was making his way over toward our bush. They may be herbivores, but they’re deadly when angry. All it takes is one hoof to the head to kill a man. I made another shot in the air, spooking him into turning tail. Preston and I couldn’t carry two stags, and I’m not one to waste food. Once the ragstags were out of sight, we grabbed our prize and made our way back to Sanctuary.   
…

The settlers helped dressing the kill and starting a fire. I wanted to do the cooking because wastelanders weren’t well versed in the art of seasoning. I threw in the rump roast with corn, potatoes, and some carrots. I crushed up tato flowers, which give off a bittersweet flavor that will take out some of the strength of the gaminess of the stag. Struges walked over to me to check out the stew. It had been cooking for about 7 hours now, making the meat tender enough to almost not need to be chewed.   
“Smells good Olivia.” He said, “Good enough to make a man crave some female attention.” Struges drug his hand across my shoulders. Drawing some moisture between my legs.  
“Well I’m here by myself, so you can get my undivided attention.” I smiled.   
“I was hoping, if your detective pal isn’t still in your shack, that I could steal you away for a few hours.” He continued.   
“A few hours? What could you possibly need me alone for that long for? Is there some hardware you need a hand with?” I teased.   
“You can say that.” Sturges mused.   
“Well after dinner I may accidentally leave my door unlocked. Although I should warn you that my injury leaves me unable to do any...heavy lifting.” I continued.   
“Don’t worry about it, I’m use to needing a more delicate touch when tweaking machinery.” He responded. 

…

The stew was the best thing I’ve eaten in a long time. I could finally stomach some solid foods, and deer being the first was quite the filling meal. Just as I told Sturges, I left my door unlocked. I took off the work clothes that I was wearing and slipped into an old nightgown with some patchy fur at the bottom. I opted to leave my underwear off to make the night go easier. Looking down at my stomach, I could see the scar of Kellogg’s attack. No doubt it would stick with me forever as a reminder of the bastard, but at least it wasn’t in a visible area. Well, at least visible to most of the Commonwealth. I heard my door creak open and the footsteps of a man. Sturges appeared around the corner, in a casual shirt and jeans.   
“Well aren’t you a sight.” He said, licking his lips while looking me up and down. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He was a wolf and I a hare.  
“Careful now, looks can kill.” I replied.   
Sturges pulled me by the waist and kissed my neck. "I've missed you since our night on the workbench. I need more of you, if you’ll have me.”   
“How could I say no to that face?” I mused, pulling him into a kiss. He moved his hands down to my ass, giving it a few squeezes. “I missed you too you know.” I said. His response was to push his body onto mine, using his weight and stature to move me toward the bed. Once I felt my legs bump into the mattress, I eased myself on. Struges grabbed my legs to lift my lower body up, and spread them to expose myself to him. A wave of heat coursed up my body and I felt my sex respond. He freed himself with one hand and pressed it to me. It slid in with no resistance, my body needing this too much to let any friction stand in the way. I moaned with no regard to my volume as he bottomed out in me. Struges wasn’t as long as Nate was, but boy was he thicker. I could feel myself stretching out to accommodate him as he gently thrust. I could have sworn I was as full as I could get, until he place a lubed thumb into my ass.   
“Woah” I exclaimed, “Warn a woman first.”   
“Oh I’m sorry, I should’ve asked first. I just got carried away after I found this bottle of lube in a lock box.” He started to withdraw his thumb.   
“I didn’t say no.” I looked up with a sly smile, “just got surprised there. Please give me more.” Nate and I had done some backdoor exploration before and I learned that enjoyed it even more than he did. I was down right addicted in the beginning, but it had been too long since I last had it for me to be able to take much more than a few fingers tonight. “You can put a few fingers in, but just go slow. Oh, and keep up those strokes handsome.” I said.   
“Will do boss.” He replied. 

…

After Sturges and I finished, he gave me a small kiss and fared me goodnight. I fell asleep quickly from the exhaustion of the intercourse, but I dreamed of Nick. I saw him running toward me at the entrance of Sanctuary, picking me up and twirling around in an embrace. He brought me to his mouth and gave me a passionate kiss. It felt like the world around me was still and we were all that existed.   
“I love you too doll.” He uttered with a smile.   
“I knew you did, I double checked the case file.” I replied.   
Nick just laughed and put me back on the ground. We spent the day strolling around Sanctuary, enjoying each other’s conversations. At dusk we made it back to my room, except instead of the shack we were in my prewar home. Codsworth had made a dinner of baked ziti, my favorite.   
"Why did you have Codsworth make that Nicky?" I asked.   
"Well it's a special occasion." He said.   
"What do you me-" I stopped in shock as I turned around and saw Nick on one knee, a ring in a box opened in his hands.   
"I love you doll. I mean it. What do you say?" He responded.   
"YES!" I yelled while running into his arms, knocking him to the ground.   
"Careful now mistress, you wouldn't want to hurt the baby." Codsworth said.   
"What are you talking about?" I looked down and I was no longer on Nick, but on a puddle of blood. I looked around the room in panic. The walls fell down around me, revealing laboratory-like walls. There was a bright examination light shining in on me, nearly blinding me. I put a hand up to my eyes to block the UV rays. Around the room I saw more blood leading to Shaun's room. I slowly made my way to the room and saw Nate laying dead on the floor, leaning against the crib. Stunned, I made my way slowly to Shaun's crib, hearing laughter above me. The crib was covered in blood too, but it was empty. This blood was Nate's. I looked up to the sound of laughter. Kellogg was visible, a giant hovering over the glass tank I was in.   
"You'll never find him," Kellogg's voice echoed off the walls. Synths appeared around me, all aiming their lasers at me.   
"Should've stayed on ice pal." I could hear Shaun's cries ringing in my ears as the synths all simultaneously pulled the trigger. 

"NO!" I yelled out, bolting up from my nightmare. I was drenched in sweat and my sheets were soaked. I looked around the room frantically, my shoulders heaving from my racing heart. I jumped out of the bed and ran through all the rooms, looking for Nate and Shaun. I called out for them, screamed for them. I needed Nate and Shaun. I couldn't live without them. Codsworth heard my panic from outside the shack and made his way in my shack.   
“Olivia?” He questioned. I sat on the floor of the living room, grasping at my hair and rocking back and forth. It was the worst panic attack I suffered since seeing Nate dead in his capsule. One of the biggest problems with not having proper doctors was not being able to get my psychiatric medications refilled. The withdrawals were bad enough, but I was losing my grip on controlling my anxiety now. “I will fetch Mr. Garvey,” He continued, “please stay here.” As though I could even go anywhere. Preston ran into the room not long after Codsworth left, just as would be expected from a Minuteman.   
“Olivia! What’s going on?” He rushed to my side, sliding down to meet me on the floor. He put a hand on my shoulder, knowing exactly what I needed without me mentioning it.   
“I-I had-ad a nightmare.” Was all I could muster between my gasps for air and mucus covered face. I was hyperventilating and couldn’t stop. My body couldn’t produce anymore sweat. I felt like this was it, I was going to die here in this broken house before I could find Shaun.   
“Try to breath,” Preston comforted, “It’s okay. It wasn’t real, just a bad dream. I’m here.” He continued, “What do you need?”  
I couldn’t speak anymore, but I reached out shaky hands to him. Preston got the hint and embraced me. He was so sweet and sensitive, a polar opposite of this world. Preston held me to his chest for what seemed like hours until my hyperventilation caught up to me and I passed out. I could still make out the comfort of Preston’s clutch.


	9. Storm the Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to fight those crabbies

It was time to storm the Castle. Preston stood before me with five Minutemen who volunteered to fight. I thought back to that night that Preston comforted me in my panic. When I woke up that morning he was cuddled up to me in my bed. His arm rested across my shoulder in a more platonic than coupled way. I didn’t wake him even though I was hungry because I was too busy enjoying the sheer safety I felt in his arms. I think Nate would have appreciated him as much as I did for taking care of me like he would.  
“We’re ready when you are General.” Preston said, bringing me back to focus.  
“Of course, let’s head out.” I replied, gun ready.  
Preston and I snuck up the right wall while the other five Minutemen made their way to the left and rear walls. They had their laser muskets aimed toward the mirelurks on the ground, waiting for my signal. Before I could tell Preston to fire, several softshell mirelurks ruptured from the ground around us. We were surrounded and not the ones on the ground were alert and climbing up the walls. Preston and I shot as rapidly as we could at the crab monsters. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a Minuteman falling to his death off the wall.  
“We got to stay away from the sides of the wall!” I yelled to Preston. Two lasers shot out from his musket, hitting a mirelurk in the head. It crumbled onto the ground. I turned around and unloaded a clip into one that was missing a claw. I missed the head a few times before I got the magic. Preston and I cleared the immediate threats around us and began shooting at the crabs still on the ground. We wouldn’t get any amazing hits because their shells covered just about all their sensitive parts, but we could weaken them. The other men had cleared out their threats and were following suit, until I heard a scream and watched as one of the men was swarmed with mirelurk hatchlings. There was no saving him as they attached to his face and limbs, panicking him until he accidentally ran off the wall. I could hear his bones break on the impact. I didn’t even notice that there was a clutch of eggs behind me hatching out until one bite into my ankle. I fell over from the pain and kicked my other leg at it, crushing it like the bug it was. Preston was rapid firing at the nest until all the eggs popped.  
“Are you okay General?” Preston asked.  
“I’ll be fine, just caught me off guard. How are the men?” I replied.  
“They cleared out the nests around them, I think the walls are clear.” He answered.  
“Good. Signal them that we’re going down.” Preston whistled and made a hand sign, gesturing that it was time to move to a frontal assault. We managed to clear out the rest of the mirelurks and nests with the help of some grenades I brought from Sanctuary. We were all exhausted, but it looked like we won. That was until the ground began to shake and erupt.  
“Mirelurk Queen!” A woman yelled, firing into its legs. I watched, as if in slow motion, as the tower of a monster spewed acid down on her. Her screams weren’t human as the flesh and muscle melted from her bones and a goopy skeleton collapsed in her place.  
“Run inside the walls!” I commanded.  
As I expected, the queen was too large to make it through the arches and her acid was restrained to the archways.  
“What the hell do we do now?” I asked Preston.  
“How should I know?” He replied.  
“There’s got to be something we can use against that thing right?” I responded. “Everyone fan out and search for something big to take out that beast.” I ordered.  
I ran to a room that looked to be a meeting place. On the main table I found what we needed, a missile launcher. I searched the rest of the room for ammo, but only found 4 rounds. Hopefully that would be all I needed. I met the rest of our group out in the hall, showing them my prize find.  
“Okay, now who can use this thing?” I asked. Everyone shook their head. “Great. We’re all going to die.” I laughed. The men didn’t seem to like my joke.  
“General,” Preston started, “you’re going to have to do this.”  
“No pressure right?” I asked, moving myself to an archway opposite of the Queen. I thought back to all the times Nate talked about using these kinds of weapons. Nate was a heavy gunner. I took a deep breath and aimed it toward the beast. It rested across my shoulder and weighed down on me, causing aches down my body already.  
“Here goes nothing.” I whispered to myself before pulling the bulkley trigger. The Queen turned at the sound and the missile exploded into its torso. It made a screeching garage, but still moved toward us like it did nothing. Preston loaded up another round while I kept my aim on it. Another pull of the trigger. This time it missed, whizzing past her head.  
“Fuck” I yelled while trying to get up and out of the doorway. I felt a splash of acid hit my thigh as the Queen spat toward us. I ran to another archway, hoping it was too dumb to follow my direction. Preston loaded another missle and I took aim again. This time it hit in her legs, sending it toppling forward.  
“Yes!” Preston exclaimed, loading another round.  
“Don’t celebrate yet.” I said.  
The Queen stood back up on wobbly legs and began walking toward us, slower than before. I brought my launcher up for another chance at the head. That was the only way we could take this bastard down. I missed. Preston loaded up the last missile, I could see the terror on his face. I didn’t have time to comfort him. I knew either I made this shot or we all died, and as the General it was my responsibility to finish this. I bolted to my feet and rushed toward the Queen. Preston and his men screamed at me to stop, but I didn’t. This was it. It would be me or them, and I’d rather it be me. I could feel the burn of drops of acid slashing around my feet, but avoided the largest spouts of acid. I got up to the legs of the beast and aimed upward. It couldn’t risk spraying now without hurting itself. I fired the last missile at it’s gnarly face, the recoil sending me backwards to the ground. I felt my right shoulder hit some acid laying on the ground and winced at the burning. This time I made a miracle shot and the beast fell back onto its shell. My eyes widened as I noticed the biggest error of my proximity to this Queen, its legs falling back toward me. I tried to scram away, but one trapped my left leg and I could feel my femur snap. I screamed and my vision blurred. Preston came running out toward me to pull me out with the help of the remaining minutemen lifting the leg off mine.  
“Let’s get you splinted, that break looks bad.” Preston said, ordering the men to fashion a splint. He injected two stimpaks in my leg and I could feel the pain of the bone mending too quickly. Stimpaks were unlike anything else in modern medicine, able to instantly fix bones and injuries.  
“Help me get the General to the barracks.” Preston commanded. I have to admit that seeing him really take charge like this was a turn on. How I managed to be in pain and horny at the same time, I may never know. Maybe next time I fuck I should try adding in a little pain? I was brought back from my thoughts as the three men lifted me and walked me to the least dirty bed in the barracks. Preston had the other two men work on getting the radio tower back on while he stayed behind with me.  
“I knew you could do it General,” he started, “but I wish you wouldn’t have run head on with the Mirelurk Queen. I don’t know what I would have done if you died.”  
I looked up at him, “I’m sorry Preston. I just didn’t want anything to happen to you.”  
“Well I guess we feel the same way about each other.” He responded with a soft tone I’ve never heard from him before while stroking my cheek with his hand. “Promise me you won’t do something that risky?”  
“I’ll try not to.” I replied while moving my face into his palm.  
“General…” He started hesitantly, “there is something I’ve been thinking about for a while now that I want to tell you. I know this isn’t the best time, but I don’t think I can hold it in any longer. Seeing you almost die...it made me feel like I was dying too.” He paused, looking at me unsure.  
“It’s okay Preston,” I said, “I already feel a lot better after those stimpaks. Tell me what’s on your mind.”  
“Okay-here it goes. I've been thinking back lately on how things were for me when we first met. It was the lowest point of my life. I mean... all my closest friends were dead. Everything I believed in had turned out to be a lie. What I’m getting at is, if you weren’t there and those raiders didn’t kill me...I’d think I would have found a way to end it. I’m not sure I would hurt myself on purpose, but just stop caring about defending myself.”  
“Oh Preston.” I said, grabbing his hands in mine.  
“I just wanted you to know that. How much you’ve meant to me.” A smile made its way across his face, lighting it up.  
“I'm glad you decided to stick around, Preston. The world needs more people like you... and I need you. “ I responded.  
“Oh,” His eyes raised, “I-I didn’t know you felt that way. Um, do you think we could ever…” He trailed off, clearly embarrassed.  
“I think we might.” I answered before he could bring himself to finish the question. He looked up at me with hopeful puppy eyes. “But, you need to know that I’m not emotionally capable of having a committed, monogamous relationship right now. I’m still grieving about Nate every night and have to focus my attention to finding Shaun. If you want to try something casual, I’m more than willing to try. I just don’t know if that big heart of yours could take an open relationship.”  
“I understand Olivia, but I would rather have a piece of you now to give me a chance of all of you later, than to never have had the chance to show you my love.” Preston replied.  
“That’s very unexpected of you.” I responded. “Just let me know if it becomes too much at any point.”  
“Of course.” Preston responded, planting a kiss on my forehead and leaving to assist in the Radio repair.


	10. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to sort through Kellogg's head

“Good Neighbor huh?” Preston asked.   
“That’s what this letter Nick sent says. He said there is a doctor there that may know a way to extract Kellogg’s memories from his brain, even though he’s dead. ‘Time is a key factor, so make your way to her quickly. I will retrieve Kellogg’s brain.’” I answered.   
“Well I’ll go with you.” Preston responded while rubbing his head into my hair and pressing his face into my shoulder. We were still in bed, snuggled up from the night. We weren’t intimidate in the glorified sexual way, but were truly connecting on a mental level. He didn’t ask me to remove my clothes or try to initiate sex. It was nice, honestly the most restful sleep I’ve had. It had been so long since I got to be spooned.   
“You’ll get no arguments from me.” I said, stroking a hand on his cheek. I brought my legs to the edge of the bed and stood up. The covers slipped off, revealing myself in a fairly see through white tank top and my underwear. I didn’t turn to look at Preston, but could get a good idea of what his facial expression was based on the sharp intake of air I heard. I quickly got myself dressed in the General Minutemen outfit that Preston found for me in the armory. It was weird to not be in my skin tight vault suit, but this armor is more effective until I can upgrade my vault suit.   
“Well hello General.” Preston mused.   
“You don’t think it looks stupid?” I asked, pulling at the overcoat sleeves while shifting me weight side to side.   
“On the contrary, it looks very commanding.” He said, stepping closer and finishing putting on his coat.  
“Oh? Shall I order you around then?” I teased, straightening his collar and tugging him closer.   
“After we find that Doctor.” He replied, giving me a hug before leading me out the room. 

…

“Hold up there. First time in Goodneighbor? Can't go walking around without insurance.” Said a grisly looking man, lighting a cigarette. Preston and I had just walked through the gates of Good Neighbor, exhausted after having fought off five supermutants and three of their hounds. I was in no mood for this extortion bullshit. I wanted a stiff drink and a bed, and this man was in my way.   
“Hey pal back off, she’s got protection.” Preston stated sternly, but it was clear that the man wasn’t intimidated. Preston was many things, but not scary or threatening.   
“Is that so? Well I was talking to the lady here pal. She’s the kind of face here that’ll need a little insurance.” He responded, giving me a creepy stare. I could see a shadow stepping out the alley near us. I wasn’t going to take a chance of getting ambushed, so I raised up my gun to the man.   
“Oh what have we got he-” The man laughed, until I sent a round into his head.   
“Holy shit Olivia.” Preston said startled. It wasn’t like me, but I’m over the constant threats in this hellish world.   
“WHOA. I like you already,” started the shadow that turned out to be a ghoul in a funny looking frock, “Walk into a new place, make a show of dominance. Nice.”   
I looked him in his blackened eyes, not speaking or wavering. I wasn’t convinced that he isn’t a threat yet. “I’m Hancock, mayor of this town. Welcome to Goodneighbor, of the people for the people. You feel me?”   
I smiled at that question, “not from here, but maybe after a few drinks.” I replied.   
“Okay, now I really like you.” Hancock responded, “come by my office sometime and I’ll pour you some rounds, on the house.” He finished and walked away.  
“Welp, that was a strange encounter. Now let’s find that inn and get to the doctor first thing in the morning.” I said to Preston, who only nodded in response. 

…

It was around six in the morning when Preston and I woke up, getting dressed and taking a moment to eat some radstag jerky I made for the road. Not the nice breakfast of eggs and toast I loved before the war, but better than an empty stomach. Preston hadn’t said much since I shot that man, leaving me to wonder if he’s upset at me.   
“So, nice weather we’re having.” I said to break the silence.   
“Huh?” Preston responded.  
“Is something wrong?” I asked.  
“No, I’m just tired.” He answered.   
“Preston,” I put a hand on top of his, “We’re always tired. What is bothering you?”   
“I’ve just never seen you kill a man that was talking to you, without talking back first. It was...surprising, but I didn’t want to say anything because it’s not a wrong choice to have made. I’m actually more worried about how you’re holding up.” He replied.   
“I understand. I think this life is wearing on me heavier now. I’m just so sick of being threatened and dealing with bullshit.” I sighed.   
“I understand. Just...know I’m here for you if you need to talk. No pressure to open up about anything you don’t want to though.” He said.   
With that, we made our way next door to the Memory Den. I don’t know what I was expecting when I opened the door, but cushioned television pods and a vintage flapper woman was not it.   
“Welcome to the Memory Den. You don’t happen to be Olivia do you?” The overly dressed blonde woman asked.   
“I am.” I responded.   
“Great, they’re waiting for you downstairs.” She said.   
They? I turned the corner and took the steps. Even though there were pods in this room, big machinery, and a woman in a lab coat, but Nick was the first thing I saw. I paused at the end of the stairs, Preston almost bumping into me. He locked eyes with me, their intense yellow glow bringing back feelings that I had spent the past several weeks trying to avoid. I could feel my face start giving me the familiar twitches that I have right before a panic attack. Preston must have noticed, since he was the only one with experience dealing with my condition, as he put both his hands on my shoulders and squeezed me hard. The pressure draws my attention off of what’s in my head, stopping the attack before it could take over.   
“Nick! It’s good to see you again.” Preston said, making his way over to him and shaking his hand.   
“Back at you.” Nick replied, still looking at me even though my eyes were to the ground. “I see our girl has taken to her role as General.”   
“Yes, Olivia has become quite the leader.” Preston replied.   
“So you’re doctor Amari?” I asked the woman in the lab coat, “Pleasure to meet you, I’m Olivia.”   
“Just Amari please, we are both doctors.” She smiled in her response.   
“Did Nick get enough of Kellogg’s brain to make this work?” I asked.   
“Yes, he actually found a cybernetically enhanced hippocampus.” She answered.  
“Really? That’s a memory jackpot.” I said to Preston and Nick.   
“Yes, Doc Amari filled me in. She’s going to hook that up to me and you’ll have to sort through the memories because they’re coded.” Nick replied.   
“That makes sense, one final fail safe. Thank you Nick.” I responded.   
…

I was standing on neurons, the space around me was a purple hue. This simulation was too real.   
“I’ll make connections to the intact memories. Just follow the path.” Dr. Amari’s voice called out from the void.   
I watched as more neurons appeared and weaved their dendrites and axons together, forming a bridge for me. In the distance I saw the first memory, it was of Kellogg’s childhood. His household was destructive and broken, no wonder the man was fucked up. The next one was of him taking up mercenary work to provide for his wife and child. How could a man with a family kidnap a baby?   
These memories played out like a show on tv, except I felt like I was actually living the moment with them. I took pause at Kellogg’s voice reliving this one. His child was murdered. I felt a part of my heart lurch. This man had such a rough life, I almost feel bad for killing him. He must have lost the last bit of his humanity when his child was killed. I wasn’t going to let this understanding make me second guess my choices. Although I haven’t gone through everything he had, I would’ve never done what he did. Taking your hurt out on others doesn’t make you feel better. Avenging Nate’s death hasn’t stopped my nightmares or ease my grief, so surely he never got peace from working for the Institute.   
I meandered through more memories until I came to our first meeting. I felt cold, like my soul drained through my feet. I walked over to Nate’s pod. Shaun was in his arms, wrapped in his favorite blanket. I could feel the tears rolling down my face as I put my hand to the glass. It wasn’t a long moment as I heard the Institute men and Kellogg walk into the room.   
“Amari, I need that new memory now.” I called out, my heart began to race. I knew I couldn’t handle witnessing this again. They opened the pod.   
“Olivia you’ll need to calm down, your heart rate is getting out of control.” Amari responded. I could hear Shaun’s cries and Nate coughing. My body began to shake.   
“AMARI! I need to get out. I can’t do this. Pull me out!” I shouted.   
“Breath Olivia, we’re almost at the end of his memories. Just hold on for a minute longer, I’m getting these neurons mended.” She responded.   
“I’M NOT LETTING YOU TAKE SHAUN!”   
No. No,no,no,no,no. I couldn’t stop watching the nightmare unfolding. Kellogg raised his gun and fired into Nate’s head. Shaun screamed. I fell to the ground, there was no way to stop this onslaught of raw emotion. The anger, despair, and shock all working together to take control of my body. My whole body raddled, my extremities numb, and my body clenched. The sound that came out of my mouth wasn’t human.   
“OLIVIA,” Dr. Amari yelled, “if you don’t calm yourself you’re going to kill yourself. Your heart rate is through the roof.”   
I didn’t answer. I managed to fight my own muscles into a fetal position and close my eyes to think of happier places. I thought of my wedding day, where Nate cried seeing me walk down the aisle. Nate holding our baby and smiling at me. All the times our park picnics turned into park voyages. My thoughts took me to Nick taking care of me after getting shot. Nick smiling and laughing at me. Sturges picking me up onto the workbench, whispering naughty suggestions to me. Preston holding me as I cried and cuddling all night with me.   
The room finally stopped vibrating and I could begin to feel the aches of my body. My head throbbed, my arms and legs felt weak, and my eyes burned. I slowly began to sit up and look around the room. Everyone that was here was gone, including Nate’s body and my own. I don’t know how long I was out, because I have been known to black out during an attack.   
“Olivia?” Dr. Amari softly called out. “The next memory is ready, whenever you are.”   
I stood on unsteady legs, my vision blurry. I kept my hand along the wall of the vault to regain my balance. My body was tired as though I just ran a marathon and my eyelids grew heavier with each step. I could see the next memory in the distance. There were two bodies, a small child’s and a man in a chair. Carefully, I planted my left foot on the next neuron. It swayed under my feet. It took me several steps to get a grip on myself, worried about falling over.   
There he was, Shaun. He was on the floor of the house playing with a toy car and blocks, surrounded with magazines. I reached my hands out toward him, passing through him like a ghost. Shaun looked to be about nine or ten years old. I had already missed so many milestones. Kellogg was cleaning a gun absentmindedly in a large red sofa chair. It angered me to see him like this, caring for the child he stole from me. He didn’t deserve the joy of having child, and I hope he’s rotting in hell now. A flash of light and electricity shot down in the room and a man in a trench coat and dark sunglasses appeared.   
“It’s time.” He said to Kellogg.   
“I was wondering when you’d show up.” Kellogg responded, “One of these days you’re going to barge in unexpected and I’ll shoot you.” The man ignored his threat.   
“Shaun come beside me and stand still.” The mystery man commanded, and Shaun did just that. Shaun had no fear or hesitation. “Father wants an update on your search for the defector.”   
“All my leads say Virgil went into the Glowing Sea and never came out. You can tell them he’s dead, no way some white coat would survive there.” Kellogg replied.   
“We’ll say he’s dead when we find a body. Head to Fort Hagen to continue your mission.” The man said, then zapped in nothingness with Shaun.   
“Teleportation. That’s why no one has found an entrance, there is none.” Dr. Amari said. “Look at the T.V screen when you’re ready to get pulled out.” 

…

I awoke in my pod, cold from the sweat on my body. The pod where Nick sat was empty and Preston wasn’t in the room.   
“Ah good, you’re awake.” Amari came to the pod, “I was worried about you for a while there. Mr.Valentine is in the lounge waiting for you. I’ve never done something like this before, so please take it easy in case their are side effects.”   
“Of course, thank you so much.” I said, shaking her hand on my way out.   
Nick was sitting on the bench near the entrance of the building. I made my way toward him, scanning the room for Preston.   
“I hope you found what you were looking for.” Kellogg’s voice hissed through Nick’s mouth.   
“Nick?” I asked, alarmed.   
“What?” Nick responded.   
“You-you sounded like Kellogg.” I replied.   
“Sorry about that, Dr. Amari said there may be some mnemonic impressions left over from the procedure.” Nick said .   
“Where is Preston?” I asked.   
“He said there was a settlement nearby under attack. He left me here to continue traveling with you until he got back.” He answered.   
“That sounds like him. I can’t thank you enough for what you just did for me, but I’m not ready to travel with you again yet.” I replied. Nick looked a bit hurt at what I said.   
“I understand we parted on...less than ideal terms Olivia, but it’s not safe to be here in Goodneighbor alone. I’m not letting you get killed here just because you didn’t have some backup.” Nick responded.   
“I can’t stop you from following me, but don’t expect me to be the same Olivia from that night. You really broke me Nick, and I’m still picking up the pieces.” My voice cracked under the pressure of my emotions. I wanted to scream at him, cry, and go back into his arms all at the same time. I wanted to kiss him, but I also wanted to never talk to him again.   
“I hope you’ll let me help you put those pieces back together. I’m ashamed of my own actions, and if I could do it over again I would have stayed with you that night.” Nick looked at me, almost pleading. I could feel my heart falling again, but I’m not ready to let him back in yet.   
“Here’s some caps to get us a few nights at the hotel. I’ll meet you there tonight.” I handed Nick a satchel of caps.   
“Where are you going to be? It’s already pretty late and you suffered a large attack in that pod.” Nick asked with concern.   
“I got an invitation for drinks with the mayor and I could really use something stiff right now.” I replied, meaning it in more than one way.   
“Okay...just be careful Olivia. Please.” Nick responded.   
“I will be Nick, I just need to clear my head.” I said as I headed out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whiskey, mentats, and everyone's favorite raisin up ahead.


	11. Details and Drug Paraphernalia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's everyone's favorite raisin

“There’s the killer!” Hancock exclaimed as I entered the doorway of his room. There was a red headed bodyguard leaning in the doorway with a scowl on her face. Hancock was walking toward me with his arms out and there were a few members of the watch there with him, drinking and talking on sofas.   
“How could I pass up free drinks?” I offered with a smile. Hancock pulled me into a slight hug and encouraged me to a chair with a hand around me shoulders.   
“So you’re the one who had the balls to off Finn, huh? It was only a matter of time until he pissed off the wrong one with that extortion crap.” A ghoul in a pinstripe suit said to me, raising up a glass of whiskey.   
“He just caught me on a bad night.” I replied, embarrassed that these men are celebrating Finn’s death. I took a seat on a dingy red chair, crossing my legs.   
“I really like the hat sunshine, what’s with the get up?” Hancock asked.   
“Oh this?” I said while pulling at my overcoat, “I’m the General of the Minutemen, so it was time I started looking like it.”   
“Woah the Minutemen? I thought they were gone.” Another watchman said.   
“Well they were, but we just took back the Castle and got the radio tower working so it won’t be much longer before we’re back in full force.” I answered.   
“Well good on you. It’s about time we got someone trying to help out people.” Hancock said, “Now what’ll have? Are you more a white or brown girl?”   
“Oh if only I knew how to answer that.” I laughed thinking back to the racists questions I got asked in my childhood. “I’m a whiskey girl if you got it.”   
“My kind of woman.” He replied while pouring me a glass. He handed to me with some flair before making his way to the chair across from me. “So was it just the free drinks that brought you over here, or did you want some of my charismatic company?”   
“Why not both?” I teased. This line of flirting was taking my mind off of Nick and the memories I just had to shift through. I took a swig of the golden liquid, coughing as it burned its way down my throat. Hancock and his men laughed.   
“Not use to the heat?” Hancock asked.   
“I’m not much of a drinker, no. I’m quite the featherweight so I avoid alcohol unless I really need it.” I answered, “But when I do drink, I prefer how browns make you loose.” I winked at him.   
“Well boss we’ll get out of here and leave you two to it.” One of the men said and they all headed out after downing their drinks.   
“Oh what a shame,” I started, “it’s more fun with an audience.” I could already feel tipsy. It wouldn’t be much longer before my bold statements got me into compromising positions.   
“What’s your ride of choice?” Hancock asked, “I’m more of a mentats ghoul myself. Makes me feel like an intellectual.”   
“Oh...I’ve never actually done any drugs before.” I replied, “but please, don’t hold back on my account.”   
I watched as Hancock pulled out a small tin and popped the candy coated drug. He smiled at me watching him.   
“So, why don’t you tell me about yourself” He said. I told him about before the war, my family, the vault, Kellogg, and the Institute. I felt like the words flowed out of me because the alcohol number my emotions and my ability to stop words from coming out of my mouth. Hancock was also the best listener I’ve ever meet, making this the perfect opportunity to let it all out. I was surprised that throughout the whole story I never felt any anxiety come about.   
“Well, I think you could use some Jet after all that.” Hancock said and tossed an inhaler at me.   
“A bronchodilator? I don’t think breathing better is going to actually going to help me now, but it would come in handy next time I have to run from mutant hounds. Thanks Hancock.” I replied.  
“You really were a doctor huh?” He asked.  
“Yeah, a damn good one too. I practiced family medicine and dermatology in a clinic with my best friends, but my favorite part was helping run a free mobile clinic to provide healthcare to the people who couldn’t afford it. The things people took for granted back then…” I trailed off.   
“Well Sunshine, the Commonwealth could really use you.” Hancock said.   
“Oh yeah, what’s with the pet name?” I asked.   
“I’ve heard about the things you’ve done to help the common people. You’re a ray of sunshine to them, plus you’re the hottest woman I’ve every seen.” He mused.   
“Is that so?” I asked with a sly smile while pouring another round for myself. Hancock’s lips widened across his face as he watched me lean across the table, making my cleavage visible. “Why don’t you tell me about that last part.”   
“Someone’s fishing for compliments. Alright, we can start on the easy stuff. You’re face look’s like those models on prewar posters. The freckles across you’re face are pretty cute, and your hair is really unique.” He started.   
“Mmmm, but I doubt it was my freckles that caught your attention.” I teased while arching my breast upward and shifting in my seat.   
“Well now that you mention it, I was having more impure thoughts.” He replied.   
“Tell me about those, and I might have some to share with you.” The alcohol really was kicking in now. I wasn’t drunk, but I definitely was feeling the heat between my legs.   
“Heh. I think I’d rather show you.” Hancock stated, staring into my eyes. He was waiting for permission. I heard his bodyguard, Fahrenheit, leaving the room and shutting the double doors with a sigh.   
“You have my curiosity.” I said, standing up to walk toward him. His eye’s widened a bit when I started to remove my coat and threw it over one of the sofas. “Don’t disappoint me.”  
“I’ve never had a complaint.” He stood up, removing his own coat and grasping me by my waist. He pulled my head to his and started to kiss me. The skin on his lips was rough, like a callous. I could taste the alcohol and berry mentats on his tongue as he entered my mouth. I don’t think he was lying about not getting a complaint judging how he twirled his tongue around mine. Hancock’s hands had the agility you would expect of a theft as he expertly unbuttoned my shirt and pulled it off of me. His rough hands raked up my back and toward my breasts. I shivered under his touch and hot breath. He moved his lips off of mine and to my neck, gently biting at the sensitive skin. I moaned softly and jerked into his body.   
“Getting bothered?” He joked into my neck.   
“Can’t help it when you’re hitting all the right spots.” I said, already short of breath. I could feel his member twitch at my reply.   
“Why don’t we move to a more horizontal position so I can show you what I’m best at.” He mused and began to gently push me toward the clear sofa. “How about you get in the position you like the most.”   
“Such a gentlemen,” I replied while removing the rest of my clothes. I heard Hancock take in a sharp breath once I was exposed. I pushed my hands and knees into the cushions. “I assume you know how to handle a woman like this?” I teased, lifting my ass to show my sex. Hancock’s response was to climb in on top of me and rub my clit with one hand and massage my breast with the other. His chest was pressed to mine, the weight welcomed. I tilted my head backwards to get the full pleasure of my own moans.   
“God you’re beautiful.” Hancock said in a tone that was even more raspy than usual. “I don’t think I can hold back, are you really okay with this?”   
“Yes please,” I breathed, “I need you.” I ached to be filled and have this pressure released. Hancock moved off of me and positioned my hips. I felt his tip rub around my lips, collecting the moisture that was already shamelessly leaking from me. I made a whimper at the motions, the suspense resulting in a few involuntary jerks. I encouraged him to end the teasing by lowering my head to cushion, making my body as curved as possible. He seemed very pleased at the movement and slapped my ass and started to push himself in. I almost didn’t feel anything until bottomed out because of how wet I was. I could feel it running down my legs. If I wasn’t tipsy, I would’ve felt embarrassed.   
Hancock moaned as he began to pump into me, the wet sounds highly audible throughout the room. I begged him to go harder and not hold back. I felt as he grabbed a handful of my hair and tugged my head back, causing my moans to be even louder.   
“I want to hear you.” He groaned.   
“Fuck me harder Hancock.” I moaned, cheeks flushed.   
“What else do you want?” He asked, picking up his pace.   
“Finger my ass.” I blurted out, the alcohol preventing me from hiding my perverted desire.   
“Oh aren’t we quite the Minx.” Hancock laughed as he rubbed two finger across my sex to lube them up. I felt the taboo pressure at my rear and my ass relaxed to let him in. I could feel myself getting close to climax and yelled for him to finish me off. His pace was relentless, painful even. It was exactly like I wanted it, nearly abusive. Being dominated like this was enough to drive me over the edge. I clenched so hard from my body ravaging orgasm that Hancock couldn’t pull himself out.   
“Ah fuck Sunshine.” He moaned, his member pulsating his seed into me. It’s a good thing that all the radiation exposure makes ghouls infertile. “I’m sorry I tried to pull out, but you were so damn tight.”   
“It’s okay Hancock,” I started, “this isn’t the first time something like this has happened to me. It’s the alcohol.”   
“Well in that case, you’re welcome to have a drink here anytime.” He laughed.   
“I’m sure I’ll take up on that again.” I smiled as I started to put my clothes back on.   
“Hey, Olivia.” Hancock said, now serious. “If you could use some company while you’re traveling, I could go with you. I don’t just mean that to get some more of that action either, I could use a chance to sharpen my ol’killer instincts. Getting to do that in pleasant company is a bonus.”   
“I would like that Hancock. Right now I have to handle some things with Nick and Preston, but I’ll come back once I get that done.” I replied, “Thank you for the stress relief also. I’ll be sure to return the favor next time.” I winked.  
“So there will be a next time? Heh. That’s my kind of freak show.” He joked. I waved and headed out to Rexford.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, Hancock will return later in the series.


	12. Confrontation and Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confronting her emotions to Nick and getting back to Diamond City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated the tags for my ships. As I write I come up with some more ideas to add to the story, even some that don't directly involve Olivia but will still be told from her point of view.

Nick was sitting in a wooden chair by the bed of the hotel room. Thankfully he remembered not to smoke in the room, as the smell makes me sick to my stomach. He raised his eyebrows at me while I stumbled through the door, the wobbly walk caused by both the alcohol and rough sex. I fumbled out of my clothes, thankful that I remembered my underwear.  
“Are you okay?” Nick asked, “You got some red marks all over you.”  
“Ha. Never been better Valentine.” I replied, referring to him by his for the first time since we got out of the vault. It was intentional.  
“Olivia you’re drunk. Where did you head off to? The Third Rail?” Nick said sternly.  
“Wouldn’t you like to know Mr. Detective?” I slurred.  
“Why don’t you head on to bed and we can talk after you sleep this off.” He replied.  
“I can talk now, Hancock didn’t entirely wear me out.” I smiled. Nick looked hurt at my admittance.  
“You and Hancock huh? Didn’t expect you to have a ghoul fetish.” Nick stated.  
“I don’t have a ghoul fetish. I kissed you didn’t I? Why would you think I cared about the outside of someone?” I glared at Nick, offended.  
“I guess I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.” Nick said.  
“Thanks. I’m getting use to your rude side.” I replied, moving into the bed.  
“Unfortunately so am I. I’m real sorry Olivia, I never wanted to be another thing to hurt you and add to the suffering you’ve endured.” Nick looked at me, frowning.  
“I wanted you Nick. It didn’t have to be sexually, but I put myself out there for you. I let you see me at my most vulnerable and tore down all my walls for you, but you just walked out on me. I thought we really had something after all that time together. I-,” I began to cry, “for the first time in almost a year, I found someone that made me feel the way Nate did.” I wiped at me eyes, starting to sob from letting out these emotions, “I could have accepted you wanting to be nothing more than friends, but friends don’t leave friends out to dry like that.”  
“Olivia I...I regret everything. I ran out on you because I was afraid of my own feelings. I was scared of feeling the way you do about me.” Nick moved over toward me on the bed and put his arms around my body, “I’ve never had these emotions before and I hope you can forgive me for my poor reaction.”  
“I can,” I sniffed, “but I don’t think I’ll be able to open myself up to you for a while. I don’t want to get hurt again.”  
“I understand and respect that. I promise I’ll make this up to you, and earn your trust in me again.” He kissed the top of my head and let me lay down. I drifted into sleep, eyes cry and shoulders light. 

…

“I’m sorry I can’t stay General,” Preston said to me, “there are a lot of problems that need to be sorted through at the Castle, and I don’t want you to have to delay your search.”  
“It’s okay Preston,” I replied while offering a smile, “I appreciate you taking charge of the situation. You are an amazing leader, and I hope one day you’ll have the self confidence to see that too. You never have to apologize to me for something like this. I’ll come back to the Castle when I need you, promise.”  
“That means a lot coming from you,” Preston blushed while rubbing his neck, “I better get on my way.” He embraced me and gave me a light kiss on the lips.  
“So it looks like you took what I said to heart.” Nick said, “Glad to see you agree with me.”  
I turned to look at him, stone faced. “I’m just exploring what I want for myself. Preston isn’t fully sure of his own feelings either. We’re not committed.”  
“That’s good, gives me another chance.” Nick smiled at me.  
“Possibly,” I responded, feeling better about Nick now that I got to let out those built up feelings.  
“So…,” Nick started, “care to tell me how exactly you got those marks?”  
“I think it’s better if you don’t know.” I answered. Smiling because I could feel the bruises on my body. Nick seemed to accept my response and headed out with me back to Diamond City to speak to the reporter that Nick told me about. 

…

“So let me get this straight,” Piper started, “you’re over 200 years old, were part of one of vault techs involuntary experiments, had your husband murdered in front of you, your son kidnapped by the Institute, and now you’re about to head into the Glowing Sea to find a man that may or may not be alive in hopes that he can get you into the Institute?”  
“That about sums it up.” I answered.  
“Holy shit. I got to write this.” She replied. “I’ve been gathering information about the Institute for a year now. They take people in the middle of the night and replace them with synths, the real boogeyman of the Commonwealth. The only people that may have some more information are the Railroad and the Brotherhood of Steel, both enemies of the Institute and each other.”  
“Well I’ll just have to go talk to them.” I stated.  
“You’re really something else.” Piper laughed while leaning back into her chair. “Tell you what, give me some time to get the issue together and come back for a personal interview, and I’ll head out with you to find the Railroad. I know some people who might know how to find them.”  
“You got a deal Piper.” I stood and shook her hand.  
Nick and I made our way to restock our supplies before we head back to Sanctuary. Nick left me to update Ellie on the situation. I was happily eating some power noodles when I was approached by two men. One looked about 22 years old, sandy blonde hair, wearing a blue patched suit. The other looked to be nearly 30 with dark black hair and wore a flannel shirt and jeans.  
“Hello there beautiful,” Said the older man.  
“I’m not interested in company, sorry.” I replied. Both men looked at each other with a shit eating grin.  
“Oh why so rude?” asked the younger man, “we’re just trying to talk to ya.”  
“Then talk.” I sighed, uninterested in starting a brawl in the middle of Diamond City.  
“My friend I just noticed you by yourself over here and thought to give you some company. Pretty ladies like you shouldn’t be alone, never know when you’ll be in danger.” The blonde continued.  
“Is that a threat?” I asked, taking a large sip of my noodle’s broth.  
“Ha, of course not.” He replied, the older man taking the chair next to me. “We were hoping to take you out to the Dugout Inn for some drinks and,” he began to touch my hair, “maybe rent out a room.”  
I moved my head away from his touch, forcing down my urge to shoot him right in the balls.  
“No need for a room, I’m not tired.” I replied.  
“Oh we’ll tire you out.” The older man laughed, huskily.  
“You know what? That actually sounds like fun. Let’s go.” I said, knowing the Bobrov Brothers would handle these guys for me.  
“Really?” Both men looked taken aback.  
“Of course. You just had to mention a threesome to get me going.” I smiled at them, sick to my stomach. I finished my bowl and stood, leading them to the Inn. “Now boys, why don’t you go rent us a room and get yourselves ready while I buy us some beers?”  
“Sounds good to us.” They responded and headed over to Yefim.  
“OLIVIA!” Vadim exclaimed when I entered the building. “It's good to see you!” He moved from behind the counter and gave me a bear hug. “Yefim was missing you,” he smiled and winked at me.  
“I missed him and you.” I smiled back. “I need your help though.”  
“What’s the matter?” He replied.  
“There are two men that just rented a room, they wouldn’t leave me alone or stop touching me in the market. Do you think you could give them a...threatening presence?” I asked.  
“Of course for you. I know Yefim would like to give you a hand, yes?” Vadim responded.  
“I’ll tell him now, thanks. Oh, and I could use some cans of water for the road before I leave.” I said and handed Vadium a bag of caps. He smiled at me while I walked to Yefim.  
“Hi Yefim.” I started, “I hope Vadium hasn’t been annoying you since I’ve been gone.”  
Yefim shot up out of his chair, startled that I was back. “Oh Olivia, I-I didn’t know you were back.” He stammered, nervous. He really was quite the teddy bear, looking so tough but actually being so cute and timid.  
“Well I did promise your brother that I would come back next time I was passing through.” I smiled at him, “but unfortunately it’s not under ideal circumstances. I need a personal favor from you, and I can pay I promise.”  
“What’s wrong? You seem upset.” He replied.  
“Those two men that you just rented a room to? They were harassing me in the market and came here to intimidate me into sleeping with them, both of them.” I answered, “I was alone and didn’t want to start something in front of the guards, so I thought you or Vadium could help me.”  
“Of course Olivia, I’ll make them leave you alone. Don’t worry about paying me, I’d do this for you anytime.” He said and quickly headed to the men’s room. I took his seat while I waited. I could hear his voice yelling at the men, and heard a vase crash onto the floor. I shot a startled look over to Vadium, who promptly gave me a big grin and a thumbs up. If I lived in Diamond City and was born in this wasteland, I could see myself settling with him. He was funny and burly like I enjoy my men. The two men came running out of the inn, both with a black eye. Yefim came walking out calmly, straightening his shirt. I stood up to thank him.  
“Thanks Yefim, you’re a hero.” I said, giving him a hug. Because he was so much bigger than me my arms had to fully extend to reach around his neck. Yefim seemed surprised at the sudden embrace and hesitantly put his hands on my lower back to hug me back.  
“Just let me know if anyone bother you like that again. I won’t let them get away with that.” He said with a shy smile, sitting back down on his chair. I gave him a peck on the cheek before heading back over to collect my water from Vadium.  
“I told you Yefim would be happy to do that.” He said loud enough to get a glare from Yefim from over his newspaper.  
“Oh don’t tease him Vadium.” I said while giving him a playful slap to the arm.  
“I think you should come back to spend some time with him, yes? He talks about you a lot when you’re gone. Listening to Travis on the radio to hear about your activity and know you’re okay.” Vadium said to me at a normal human volume.  
“I would enjoy that,” I replied, “I just don’t want to break his heart. I’m not looking to settle down until I get Shaun back, which may take another year at this rate.” I sighed.  
“I’m sure he’d be happy just to have some of your time, but don’t let me pressure you. Ah, your friend is here.” Vadium said, looking toward the door.  
“Olivia!” Nick called out, running toward me. “I leave you alone for a few minutes and you end up coming to a bar with two men?” He put a hand on my shoulder, “Are you okay?”  
“I am now, Yefim took care of them for me.” I smiled over to Yefim, who promptly turned red and looked back down to his paper.  
“I don’t know how you manage to have so many men willing to fight for you.” Nick laughed, surely getting the irony of his own statement.  
“My momma always said I was going to have lines of men begging for me.” I shrugged, heading toward the door. I heard yet another person running toward me as Nick was grabbing the handle of the exit. A large hand touched my arm, and I turned around to see Yefim looking more nervous than usual.  
“Olivia I-,” He started, “would you like to have dinner with me this evening before you leave again?” Yefim looked to me with puppy eyes that put Dogmeat to shame.  
“Oh, um...sure Yefim. I can come back about 6 tonight.” I replied.  
“Really? Okay, I’ll see you then.” He smiled and went back to his post.  
“Aren’t you tired of getting yourself tangled up with all these men?” Nick asked, annoyed and probably jealous.  
“I won’t lie and say it’s not taxing,” I replied, “but I enjoy the positives enough to outweigh the negatives. Besides, I know Yefim would be the one man in the Commonwealth that would never hurt me emotionally.” I cut my eyes to Nick, that wiped the smug look off his face.  
Nick didn’t respond and opened the door for me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my opinion Yefim/Sole is one of the most underrated ships. Who can resist a gentleman with Russian accent? Fluff to come next chapter. Also don't worry, Nick love isn't over.


	13. A Real Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluff for what I think is one of the cutest pairings.

I arrived to the Dugout Inn at 6, dressed in the blouse and trousers that made Nick pop a fuse. I detangled my hair for what seemed like hours to get the knots and dirt out of it. I decided on letting my hair down for this date, since few people have actually seen my hair like this and tell me it’s better that way when they do. I managed to revive some old dried up makeup with the use of mutfruit and tarberry juice, making a dark mascara and a nice red lip tint. I found some cute flats that weren’t entirely torn up from time at Fallon’s. When I told Becky that it was going on a date this evening she cut me a discount in exchange for the juicy details later. She comes off abrasive to people at first, but she is actually very fun to talk and gossip with. You would think she wouldn’t know much about what’s going on since her shop it underground, but boy did she have some details about the people that live here.   
I felt excited and nervous about this date, almost like a high schooler again. Maybe my grief is starting to let go of my heart so I can feel excited for the chance of love again. Part of me feels guilty for seemingly moving on from Nate so fast, but Nate told me many years ago when he first signed up for the military that if something happened to him he wants me to find a new love as soon as I can. I’m not sure if he told me to do that because of the guilt he felt for taking such a life threatening job so early in our relationship, or if he thought that because of my health conditions I would need to move on quickly to have someone to rely on. I guess it doesn’t really matter, because I’m honoring his wishes. I would have told Nick about Nate’s request and how I don’t actually like the guilt I feel every time I kiss or even hold another in my arms, but I lost the ability to open up with him like that. Maybe I could build that trust again soon, because I miss having someone I could talk to without fear or worry of judgement.   
Yefim was dressed in a different suit than normal, this one was a dark blue hue and really clung to his arms. You wouldn’t expect someone as reserved as him to be built like a brick house, but damn. I thought Nick was one of the strongest men in the world, but this is a new world. Yefim was sitting in his chair as usual, speaking to Scarlett. Vadium saw me and his face lit up, but he somehow managed not to yell and give away my presence. I could see a few of the paterons staring at me, no doubt wondering why the hell someone would be so impractical made up. When Scarlett moved away from Yefim, he finally noticed me standing in the center of the room. His eyebrows damn near hit this hairline and I could see his adam’s apple move across his throat from a hard swallow. When he stood up he tripped over his own feet like a toddler learning to walk. I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, although Vadium drowned it out with a booming howl. I closed the distance between myself and Yefim so he wouldn’t embarrass himself further.   
“You look great.” I said to him while straightening his shirt and coat from the tumble.   
“Me?” Yefim asked. “You-you’re the one that looks amazing.”   
“Thank you. Where did you have in mind to go?” I replied.   
“I was thinking we could go up to Colonial Taphouse for something more...tasteful for a woman like you.” Yefim answered.   
“I hope you don’t think me some high maintenance snob?” I laughed.   
“Oh of course not,” he quickly said with a worried tone, “I just thought it would be nice to go somewhere more open with a larger, non alcoholic selection.”   
“Don’t worry Yefim,” I said while grabbing his arm, “this will be a great night. Why don’t you lead the way?”   
…

“So then this giant mirelurk queen popped out of the ground,” I said while moving my arms up in exaggerated movements, “it spit muscle melting acid out everywhere.”   
“My God,” Yefim responded, “did you get hurt?” He looked very concerned.   
“Oh...well I did get some burns on my arm and leg, but I’m fine.” I assured him.  
“How you manage your way through such dangerous situations, I don’t understand it. Vadium may talk big talk, but you’re really living through all these nightmares.” Yefim seemed impressed.   
“Well I have help from some amazing friends. I don’t think I would have made it through my first day here I if didn’t find Cotsworth still at home. Not to mention Dogmeat, he has saved my life more times than anyone I know.” I countered.   
“I am glad you have such friends. I wish I could travel with you, but my brother would drive the business into the ground in a week.” He said, a sad look in his eyes. I just now realized how tired his eyes were. Vadium must really cause him a lot of stress, and he never seems to take a day off work. I felt for him, wanting to do more but knowing he can’t leave his brother. I would do the same as him.  
I placed my hand over his that was rested beside his plate of grilled ragstag steak, “It’s okay Yefim. I think you are doing what’s best for your family. I would do the same if I was you, I just wish you would get some days off to rest. I can see how weary you are.” I looked up at him. It almost looked like he wanted to cry, as though I was the only person to express such concerns for him.   
“Olivia, no one has said such things to me.” Yefim rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand, “You say such things so easy, like you are never worried. I wish I could be like you.”   
“Yefim, I’m not the image you seem to have of me. I am alway worried. Anxiety eats at me every day and some days I can’t do anything but cry on the floor. You should give yourself more credit.” I countered.   
“I had no idea.” He replied with his eyes wide. “You’re even stronger than I could imagine.” Yefim gained some confidence and held my hand in his. I blushed at the intimacy of the action. “You are a plamya, a flame, staying lit even when there’s a blizzard.” I couldn’t stop the deep reddening that spread across my entire face and looked down, embarrassed at the compliment. “You looked embarrassed, but it’s true.” He lifted my face up by a curled finger, “You are the most astonishing person I never thought could exist.” My eyes threaten to spill tears, glassing over. Nick and Preston complimented me and were sweet to me, but Yefim took it to another level. I put his hand off my face and pushed myself over the food on the table to meet Yefim’s face. I cupped his cheeks in my hands and gave him a kiss of true passion, not the lust filled kisses of previous men. He closed his eyes after a moment of shock and gently moved his hands to my hair, pulling my lips closer to his. My heart skipped and I could feel my face getting hot. Reluctantly I pulled myself from Yefim and sat back in my chair, trying to avoid drawing any more attention from the people around us.   
“That was...I can’t even describe it.” He said.   
“It’s been a while since anyone made me feel this way.” I replied.   
“It doesn’t have to stop.” Yefim responded, “I mean, I hope it doesn’t.”   
“It doesn’t, but you need to know something before we continue tonight.” I started, feeling ashamed for not mentioning this before I kissed him, “I really enjoy spending time with you and I would like to do this again, but I can’t commit to anyone romantically yet. I’m still trying to figure out who I am now that my world was taken from me. I don’t want to lead you on and break your heart.” I laid my cards out on the table.   
“I understand, and wouldn’t want to contain you my plamya.” Yefim stated to my surprise, taking my face in his hand. “I want to get to know you more, but I don’t want to suffocate your fire before you had the chance to burn and renew. I will be happy just getting to be yours when you visit for now.”   
“Really?” I asked.   
“Truly. You are worth having, even if it means to share. I don’t want to be selfish and keep your warmth to myself if you don’t know how hot you want your flames yet.” Yefim assured. “You should know here in the Commonwealth it is normal for people to take multiple partners at the same time until they decide to marry, if they ever do.”  
“Well that explains a lot.” I laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Serious things to come, also I don't know Russian so please let me know if Google Translate betrayed me.


	14. Back to Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paladins, Knights, Scribes, and Elder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter with more serious tones

The way back to Sanctuary with Nick was rather uneventful. Nick seemed more cheerful now that I forgave him. I caught him giving me some looks that I hadn’t seen since he was taking care of me from that gunshot wound. Maybe he really does want to try again with me. I don’t think I’m interested in making a real relationship with Nick for a long time, especially after seeing the side of Yefim that is so caring, but I would be okay with something just physical. I wonder if Hancock and Nick would be down for a threesome.   
I must have looked like I was having these perverted thoughts because Nick was staring at me dumbfounded.   
“What are you thinking about now?” Nick asked.   
“A good idea that I’ll have to talk to you about later.” I smiled.   
“Uh...okay.” He replied. 

Dogmeat came running out of Sanctuary as soon as I was in view and bulldozed through me. I hit the ground hard and he wouldn’t stop licking at me. I defended my face from the slobber by blocking it with my arms.   
“I’m under attack!” I laughed, “Nick save me!”   
“It looks like you’re too far gone to help doll.” He played along.   
I pulled myself up, bracing on my palms, “You’re heartless. You must really be made of metal.”   
“A tin can.” Nick said as he banged on his chest with his metal hand.   
I stood back up and gave Dogmeat some rubs. Sanctuary was coming together well and expanding. We now renovated all the older buildings that could be saved, and built two new shacks for settlers and drifters. The farm was four times bigger than it was 5 months ago. They were growing enough crops to have a surplus to sell. Cotsworth was cleaning up all the rooms and rushed over to greet me when he saw me.   
I took inventory on what I had stored, hoping that there were enough supplies and ammo to handle hunting for the Railroad and the Brotherhood of Steel. Some of the settlers left some spare 10mm ammo for me, which was very thoughtful and helpful. I hate using anything other than my pistol. There was the pipe pistol that Sturges made for me which could prove useful, so I put it in my bag. Nick was smoking outside the house, the smell leaking into my room. I coughed at the noxious fumes and stormed over to him. As soon as Nick turned to look at me I smacked the cigarette out of his hands.   
“What the hell Olivia.” He exclaimed.   
“I’m not getting lung cancer because you like to have something between your lips.” I answered, “There are more fun things to suck on that don’t make me violently ill.”   
“I’m sorry,” he responded, “I didn’t think I was close enough to bother you.”   
“It’s okay. I don’t know much about your biology, but smoking can’t be good for you.” I replied. “Is there something could do to help you kick the habit?”   
“I doubt it, but I can make sure to not be close to you next time.” He answered.  
…  
I sat on the roof of my house to watch the sunset, trying to calm my jittery nerves. How was I supposed to survive the Glowing Sea and find this Virgil? I was told that power armor would protect me from most of the radiation, and popping rad-x would handle the rest, but the power armor I had from Concord was weathered and far from air tight. It left me no option but to either wander and hope to stumble across a better suit, or turn to the Brotherhood. Why would they let me borrow a suit though? Surely they came here to start a war with the Institute, so they would have no reason to spare supplies. I doubt the Railroad would have access to suits either, since underground operations like that tend to be limited in access to technology like that. I’m doubting my ability to do all these things and get Shaun back. Even if I got into the Institute, what’s to stop them from killing me on the spot? I almost wish that I was dead already, since Shaun was my only reason to live now. I already avenged Nate, which brought me little peace. I took a long sip of beer in my hand, its label worn off.   
Suddenly there was a fire in the sky approaching. It was one of those helicopters that the Brotherhood uses to get around. I could see that it was headed toward the ground. It crashed in a ball of smoke and fire, setting the dried up trees closest aflame. I scrambled off the roof and down the ladder, calling for Dogmeat to come with me. I grabbed my medical supply bag and my pistol and headed toward the crash site, the adrenaline rushed too hard to think to bring Nick or Sturges. 

…

The sight was horrendous. I could see two crisp bodies that flew out of the aircraft, dead. I saw a trail of blood on the ground leading to the East where there was more tree cover. I had Dogmeat sniff out were the survivors were, because they would clearly need help. He lead me to a small cave in a clearing, blood on the rocky ground.   
“Hello?” I called into the mouth of the cave, my voice echoing, “Are you okay? I saw the crash and thought you needed help.” There was no answer so I hesitantly walked in, turning my Pipboy light on. After a few moments in I could see the survivors, but they held laser rifles up at me.   
“Hold it right there citizens.” A commanding voice boomed at me, “What do you want? Where did you come from? How did you find us?” Dogmeat growled low to the ground at this man in power armor, whose ear had blood dripping out of it. Beside him on the ground was a man with a gunshot wound in the leg and some slight burns on the arm. A woman was knelled near him, appearing to be attempting some first aid. By the looks of her supplies, she was missing enough to treat him fully.   
“I’m from Vault 111, I am a doctor, and I had my dog here follow your blood trail to come offer some medical aid.” I stated quickly, wanting the trained gun off me. “My name is Olivia, now please lower your gun before my boy here thinks you’re a real threat.”   
“Apologises,” the bearded man said while lowering his weapon. “We can never be too cautious. Our vertibird was taken down by a gang called the Gunners. The pilot and my other man didn’t make it, but we sustained significant injury.”   
“Okay let me see your most wounded first,” I said, trying to triage the trio, “I have enough supplies for all of you.” I made my way to the man on the ground.   
“We don’t need your help,” He spat at me. I could see his bullet wound was starting to bleed heavily, possibly puncturing an artery or a large vein.   
“We since it looks like you’re going to bleed out within the next ten or so minutes and I have surgical supplies with me and experience beyond field training, you do need my help. Now hold still.” I grabbed my bag off my shoulder to find my forceps, disinfectant, and sewing kit. “Please,” I said to the woman, “keep applying pressure to the wound while I sterile my instruments.”   
“Of course,” she responded, eyes wide at my medical bag.   
“Okay let me get a good look at that.” I said, the woman moving away the cloth covering the wound. I poured purified water to wash away the blood so I could try and spot the bullet. The man in power armor stood over my shoulder, keeping a close eye on my movements. “I’m going to have to get that bullet out first, then find what's leaking and close it up. I have some antibiotics I can pack into your leg to fend off infection and then sew the wound up.” I stated. “I need you to apply as much pressure as possible right above the wound to help slow the bleeding.” I said to the woman, who quickly did as instructed. I disinfected my hands quickly and began to push my fingers into the wound to find that bullet. Luckily for everyone it wasn’t in too deep. The man I was working on didn’t make noise, but his jaw was clenched and his knuckles white. I took the forceps and carefully pulled out the bullet, tossing it to ground. “Alright here comes the suturing,” I stated to the man while threading my needle. My needle wasn’t ideal for arteries of veins, but I could make due. The man made audible groans as I stitched his artery back together, the woman looking up at him with a panicked look.   
“Okay that’s done. You’re lucky it looks like you nicked your superficial femoral artery and not a deeper part of your femoral. Let me just pack some antibiotics in this for you and patch you up.” I grabbed the antibiotics, realizing now that I was very low on the supply. I sutures the skin up and washed the blood off the wound. “Good news, you’re going to survive. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to move this leg enough to do much until you let it heal, least you rip the sutures I just put in and have internal bleeding.”   
“Thank you so much, I’m Scribe Haylen. This here is Knight Rhys. Forgive his rude behavior, he’s like that with everyone.” Haylen said.   
“I’m used to it by now, no harm done. Now let me see that gash bleeding into your sleeve.” I reached my hand out.   
“Of course, thank you Olivia.” She responded while taking over the long sleeved shirt so I could assess her wound. “Alright this isn’t too bad. I’ll just clean it up, put in a few stitches, and get it wrapped up. Haylen was also quiet while I used the sutures, I’m not used to having patients that don’t holler at me from the pain. “Okay now to you, how should I address you?” I asked the man in power armor.   
“Paladin Danse. I don’t think I need any assistance, but thank you for helping my men.” Danse stated matter of factually.   
“You don’t feel that blood coming out your ear do you?” I smirked at him.   
“What?” He asked while touching his ears and looking at the hit now bloodied hand. “My mistake, please have a look at me doctor.”   
“No need to be formal,” I started while walking toward him, “you can just call me Olivia, I’m not one for the whole titles before name thing.” I laughed. “I need you to step out that power armor for me.” Danse did as asked and damn, he was a giant. About the same size of Yefim, he stood a clear foot and a half taller than me. I blushed, “Um...I’m going to need you to sit down for me. There’s no way I’m about to reach your head.”   
“That seems correct.” Danse sat down, this muscles taunt against his orange jumpsuit. I felt shameful for starring, but he looked like Nate but white instead of hispanic. “Is something wrong?”   
“Oh no, sorry just thinking about the best way to go about this.” I lied. “I’m going to look into your ear first just to check if it’s just a cut, then I’m going to run a concussion diagnostic.” I sat down next to him and looked at his ear. There weren’t any cuts, so the bleeding was internal. “That crash happened very quickly?”   
“Affirmative.” Danse responded.   
“Alright, I suspect this bleeding is coming from a busted eardrum. Let me know if you hear this.” I made a slight snapping with my fingers, no response. “Is there a ringing or thumping in your ear?”   
“There was a sharp pain in the ear when we landed, and a ringing that is easing.” Danse replied.   
“Okay, now let me get a look at your eyes.” I said, moving myself closer to his face. His eyes were warm brown in color and had a natural bedroom tilt. I could feel my cheeks betray me, reddening deeply. Danse just looked straight at me, seemingly oblivious to my embarrassment. “Look at my finger and follow it.” I moved my index finger slowly from left to right and up and down. I could see that no issues with ability to track. “Are you dizzy or tired, more than normal for your level of activity?”   
“What the hell kind of question is that? We were just in a crash.” Rhys interrupted.   
“I’m sorry, was I asking you Grumpy?” I countered. “Now Danse, please answer honestly this is crucial.”   
“I am feeling significantly more unbalanced than is normal, but I am not tired.” Danse stated.   
“Quite the soldier are we?” I smiled, “I’m not 100% sure, but I suspect you may have a concussion. Brain injuries are very dangerous, so you’ll need to rest up too. The closest settlement is Sanctuary, where I was at before I saw your crash. I can give you shelter and food while you heal up. We have plenty of extra beds for you that I think you will like over this cave floor.”   
“That sounds like a wise course of action. Please take us there Olivia.” Danse responded. 

…

Rhys was laying down on a bed in the guest shack, starting to get drowsy from the buffout and med-x I gave him. Danse had his power armor directly in front of his bed, and scribe Haylen was sitting on a portion of Rhys’ mattress. She looked over him like a mother hen.   
“Now that you are settling in, I’ll get you some food and wat-” I was stopped to turn at the man running in the door.   
“General!” Preston exclaimed and headed over to me, wrapping his arms around me and hugging tightly, “I thought something happened to you, you have to stop running out into danger without backup. What if you got hurt, or killed?”   
“I took Dogmeat.” I countered. Preston just stared at me while stepping back from the embrace. “Well since you're here, let me introduce you to our new friends.” I said while waving my hand over to them, “This is Paladin Danse, Knight Rhys, and Scribe Haylen. Their vertibird crashed so I ran over to give them medical attention. They’ll need shelter here to recover for a few days.” I put my hand toward Preston, “This is my second, Preston Garvey. If you need any help and can’t find me, he can assist as he has full access to all our supplies.”   
“Nice to meet you,” Preston said while moving to shake their hands, “Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen. I’m glad the General managed to bring you here, we’ll make sure to get you back on your feet in no time.”   
“Thank you citizen.” Danse replied.   
“Preston, can you get some food and water from the pantry? They lost their supplies in the crash.” I asked.   
“Of course ma’am.” He responded and quickly headed out the room.   
"Olivia?" Haylen started, "when you were working on Rhys, you were quick and precise. Scribes get field medic training, but I've never seen someone work as well and as quickly as you did. Where did you learn that?"   
"Ah. Yeah I guess I should give you an explanation for that." I responded while rubbing the back of my head and leaning up in my chair. "So remember how I told you I was a vault dweller? Well that's true, but probably not what you would expect. Vault 111 was a cryogenic testing lab. I was alive before the bombs fell. I went to medical school and practiced as a family physician and dermatologist for years, but I was frozen in the vault for over 200 years." Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. "My husband Nate and my infant son Shaun escaped to the vault with me and we made it down right as the first bomb hit the Commonwealth. We were tricked into the pods, led to believe they were decontamination machines."  
"Vault tech is known for disgusting human testing." Haylen chipped in.   
"Yeah...but it gets worse than that." I replied, looking toward the ground trying to keep my composure. "The Institute infiltrated the vault, temporarily defrosting everyone. They-they took my son and murdered my husband. Nate...he wouldn't let go of our baby and a man by the name of Kellogg shot him. They didn't even try to talk, just straight to murder." I swallowed hard, feeling tears threaten to spill over. Rhys seemed to have lessened his hard exterior as I spoke, almost looking sorry for me. "There was a critical failure about 9 years after that. I was able to make it out my pod, but every other person in the vault died of asphyxiation."   
"Vault tech was as abominable as the Institute." Paladin Danse stated.   
"Indeed. I managed to make my way out the vault and back home here. That repaired blue house outside the window was my home before the war." I replied. "With the help of some friends I made I was able to find Kellogg and avenge my husband, but Shaun is still in the Institutes hands have who knows what done to him. I have a lead on someone who may be able to get me into the Institute...but he may not be alive and is hiding in the Glowing Sea."  
"You may have a serious lead to infiltrate the Institute?" Danse's eyes were wide.   
"Yeah. I know for a fact that the information is correct because it was a synth that said it to Kellogg. The man defected from the Institute and it was Kellogg's job to hunt him down."  
"I'm going to need you to come speak to Elder Maxson. It's imperative information for our mission." Danse stated.   
"I'd be happy to tell him everything I know and I plan on hunting down the man himself, but I need a suit of power armor to make it through the radiation and danger." I replied.   
"There's a possibility in making an arrangement that will be mutually beneficial, but it will have to be Elder Maxson's decision." He responded.   
"Great, it's settled." I said.   
…

I convinced Nick and Preston to manage Sanctuary until I returned from the Pywren. Nick was far from pleased, fearing for my safety and expressing hatred for the Brotherhood. I felt safe with Danse though. He managed to survive that crash with nothing more but a busted eardrum. The man was a super soldier.   
"We are coming up the Cambridge Police Station, our base. Haylen and Rhys will stay there. We will continue on to the Pywren." Danse said to me.   
"Sounds good to me. Stay safe Haylen, I'll be sure to stop in when I head back home." I waved to her when they departed. Hayden and I had gotten close like sisters in such a short time. She even told me about her relationship problems with Rhys and about the time she felt like a failure because she couldn't save her comrade. I gave her some tips on emergency medicine and talked to her about some of my travels and various exploits.   
"Careful." Danse held a hand out to stop me, but awkwardly ended up touching my breast. He apologized and warned that someone felt off in the area.   
"Humans weak." We heard not far from us.   
"Blasted supermutants." I said to myself.   
"We should avoid th-" Danse started.   
"TIN CAN!" A supermutant brute yelled out.   
"Too late now." I said to Danse taking cover behind a car. I could make out the sound of a suicider. I leaned over the car, my head near the rear tire, the nuke wielding mutant in view. I lined my gun up to his hands and unloaded my clip at him. One of the rounds hit their target and the atomic explosion blew the entire party of mutants and their two hounds apart.   
"Good work." Danse said to me.   
"Thanks Danse." I smiled at him. We continued walking toward Boston Airport. 

….

"So...Danse?" I asked, getting his attention.   
"Yes?" He replied.   
"What's it like being in the Brotherhood?" I continued.   
"It's the greatest honor. The Brotherhood stands against the abominations that threaten mankind. It's a sense of honor and purpose that builds a person into a piece of a larger, greater plan. I would gladly spill my own blood for the Brotherhood." He stated as though rehearsed.   
"Yes, but what is the daily life like? Aside from all the fighting, what does the average member do?" I questioned.   
"Sleep, train, and aid in other ways to further the Brotherhood." Danse answered.   
"Huh. So not much room to really live. How do you manage being a soldier around the clock? Isn't there something you enjoy outside of all the work?" I continued.   
"Being a member of the Brotherhood isn't like working a job. It's a family and a lifestyle. I enjoy each and every part I play." He responded.   
" I see. I admire your loyalty and drive." I said.   
"Thank you. It's imperative that every member of the Brotherhood believes in our mission." He replied.   
"May I ask some more personal questions?" I asked.   
"What's the purpose?" Danse said shortly.   
"I just like to get to know who I travel with on a personal level. I enjoy getting to really know people, it's part of the reason I became a doctor." I answered.  
"Fair point. I apologize for all the abrasiveness, I've never had someone ask me to talk about myself beyond my experience as a soldier." Danse softened.   
"Really? That's terrible." I frowned at him.   
"It's something rare in the wasteland for anyone to care about personal interests outside of malice intent. I enjoy Fancy Lad Sweet Cakes and modifying my laser rifles."   
"Really?" I chuckled, "I didn't take you as a cake man."  
"They are delicious, why wouldn't I enjoy them?" He looked at me confused.   
"It's just you're so...manly. You're so tall and hand-muscled." I caught myself before spilling all my thoughts like that.   
"I can see the irony. All the men in the Brotherhood must be fit." He replied, oblivious to my slip.   
"Sounds like a dream." I said. "Although I'm about to look very out of place." I laughed while grabbing at the layer of fat around my waste. I may do a lot of traveling on foot, but I still enjoy eating.   
"Yes, that blue vault suit will stand out." Danse stated. I stifled a giggle. “There she is,” Danse looked to the sky, “the Prydwen.”


	15. Airships Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boarding the Prydwen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Account of sexual assault from Olivia

“Permission to come aboard Captain?” Dance said to a well dressed man.   
“Permission granted Paladin,” He replied while turning to me, “and who it this?”   
“This is Dr. Olivia,” Danse responded, “she saved a man under my command and has pertinent information on the Institute she is willing to give to Elder Maxson.”   
“I see, I trust you to keep an eye on her.” He spoke to me now, “I am Lancer Captain Kells. I will be keeping an eye on you, so don’t try anything funny. Do you understand me?”   
“Yes.” I shortly replied.   
Danse took me up a set of stairs into the airship, there was some sort of meeting going on up ahead.   
“You have accomplished this amazing feat without a hint of purpose or direction, and most impressively, without question.Now that the ship is in position, it is time to reveal our purpose and our mission. Beneath the Commonwealth there is a cancer... known as the Institute, a malignant growth that needs to be cut before it infects the surface,” A scarred man man about the age of thirty was declaring, “They are experimenting with dangerous technologies that could prove to be the world's undoing for the second time in recent history.The Institute Scientists have created a weapon that transcends the destructive nature of the atom bomb.They call their creation the "synth," a robotic abomination of technology that is free-thinking and masquerades as a human being.The notion that a machine could be granted free will is not only offensive, but horribly dangerous.And like the atom, if it isn't harnessed properly, it has the potential of rendering us extinct as a species.Therefore, the Institute and their "synths" are considered enemies of the Brotherhood of Steel, and should be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly.” I cringed, thinking of Nick, “This campaign will be costly and many lives will be lost. But in the end, we will be saving humankind from its worst enemy... itself.”   
“Ad victoriam!” The people in the room cheered. These men and women wanted war, a violent one with no thoughts to negotiations.   
“He is inspiring.” Danse stated to me while the room cleared out.   
“Paladin Danse.” The speaker acknowledged as we walked in, “Who is this woman with you?” He asked, looking me up and down more than once. It almost looked like he was checking me out rather than sizing me up.   
“This is Dr. Olivia,” Danse started, “She aided my squadron in a vertibird crash, saving Knight Rhys. She has information on the Institute that may prove invaluable to our mission.”   
“Dr. Olivia,” He reached his hand out to me, “Elder Maxson, pleased to meet anyone who aids in our cause.”   
“Just Olivia please.” I said. “I have information on where to find an Institute defector who may be to get me into the Institute.”   
“Interesting. What more can you tell me about this?” Maxson asked.   
“I have more specific information about how people have been getting into and out of the Institute, but I’m not giving this information freely.” I started, “I want to make a mutually beneficial deal with you.”   
“Proceed.” Maxson said when I paused.   
“The Institute murdered my husband and kidnapped my infant son about ten years ago while we were frozen by one of vault tech’s human experiments.” I started, “I am willing to go and find this scientist so you don’t have to expend man power, in exchange for the use of one of your power armor suits.”   
“You think I’m going to let a stranger to the Brotherhood walk out with one of our most prized technologies?” Maxson said, irritated.   
“I’m not asking for it because I want it, I’m actually claustrophobic. The informant is hiding in the Glowing Sea. I would die trying to find him if I went in unprotected.” I countered. “If you are concerned about me turning tail on my end of the deal, than send someone you trust with me.”   
“Elder Maxson if I may,” Danse spoke, “I am willing to go with her in this search to ensure we get the information.”   
“Yes,” Maxson started, “That would work. I will grant you a suit and some supplies to find this defector and Paladin Danse will go with.”  
“You have a deal,” I said, shaking Maxson’s hand.   
“Danse, get the supplies you need and head out immediately. You may take a vertibird to the destination. Make haste.” Elder Maxson ended. I followed Danse out the room and up a ladder.   
…

I felt eyes on me as we walked into the halls toward the power armor sets. There were squires staring at me and scribes making glances. The knights patrolling the ship focused in on me. I really did stand out in my bright blue vault suit. I attempted to stick close to Danse to calm down my nerves, stares always made me panic.   
“Danse!” Called out a woman in a modified power armor suit, her legs cut off at the knees.   
“Proctor Ingram,” Danse replied, “I want you to meet Dr. Olivia.”   
“Just Olivia please.” I interrupted.   
“Elder Maxson has authorized the temporary use of a set of power armor for her to complete a mission with me.” Danse said, unphased by my interruption.   
“Really?” Ingram’s eyes were wide with disbelief, “He would do that for an outsider?”   
“It’s...unusual circumstances.” Danse started, “She may be the key to getting into the Institute.”  
“I see,” Ingram looked at me, “well let’s get her fitted because she’s not going to fit in any of the suits out here without an adjustment.”   
…

I had to remove everything but my shoes and vault suit so Proctor Ingram could adjust the suit to my size. I felt rather naked, having forgotten how skin tight it was after wearing my General’s uniform around. There were several men around the area that paused to check me out while the measuring was taking place. It didn’t help that Ingram had to move slowly because of the suit.   
“Do the people here normally stare so much?” I asked.   
“Not unless some stranger is running around in a tight, bright vault suit.” she laughed.   
“That’s fair.” I laughed back to find my nervousness.   
“What kind of information do you have to get Maxson to let you have a suit?” Ingram asked.   
“I know where to find a former Institute scientist that could possibly get me into the Institute.” I answered.   
“Really? Well I can see why he would be willing to let you use this then.” She replied. “I’m going to adjust the inside linnings to match these measurements. It’ll take me about an hour or so, I’m sure Paladin Danse could show you around to kill time. You can leave your leather armor here in this safe box, no one will steal it.”  
“Thank you so much Proctor Ingram.” I said, walking to Danse at the mess hall. He had stepped out of his armor and was sitting at a table with a plate of salisbury steak in front of him.  
“Mind if I join you?” I asked softly, taking the seat to his left.   
“Of course.” He replied.   
“You know, I used to eat those in college when money was too tight to afford anything else.” I laughed. Before Danse could respond, a man approached me uncomfortably close.   
“Well hello there,” He said while leaning a hand on the table, “I don’t think I’ve seen you here before, want a private tour?”   
“No thank you.” I said, not meeting his eyes. I felt my hands getting clammy.   
“You sure?” He continued while leaning closer to me, making me uncomfortable enough to force my right leg to shake. “It’s real easy to get lost here, I could even show you the more private areas.” I didn’t respond, but luckily Danse noticed my leg shaking next to his.   
“She won’t be going anywhere with you Knight, she’s under my watch. Now leave us.” He commanded. The knight seemed pissed, but did as told.   
“Thanks Danse.” I said, letting out a deep breath to calm back down.   
“Olivia?” He asked, “Why were you shaking and keeping yours eyes down?”   
“Oh that.” I replied. “There was an incident during my freshman year of college...I was at a party with some friends and we were all rather intoxicated.” I paused at my recollection to get my words together. “There was a man there, I don’t know if he was even a student, but he-he touched me and wouldn’t stop when I told him to. He kept trying to flirt so aggressively with me and get me to sleep with him. He forced me onto the sofa I was sitting on and tried to rape me...if my friends didn’t notice and pull him off me, I’m not sure I could have overpowered him.” I looked at my hands twirling on my lap, “Ever since then I’ve had serious anxiety and suffer debilitating panic attacks.”   
“That man’s actions were inexcusable, I’m sorry you suffered through that.” Danse replied, placing a hand on my shoulder. His hand was so wide it took up nearly my whole shoulder.   
“Thanks Danse. I want to apologize now if you ever see me during an episode.” I said weakly.   
“Not a problem.” Danse stated.   
…

I never flew before the war and now as I looked down on the Commonwealth, laser pistol in hand, and now I knew I never wanted to do it again. My head was spinning and I felt sick to my stomach. I could see the edge of the Glowing Sea on the horizon. Danse and I didn’t talk the whole flight there, given it wasn’t a long trip by air.   
“Here we are.” The pilot said. “I’ll drop you off here at the edge.”   
Danse and I stepped off and the vertibird flew away. I started walking into the green haze, my geiger counter going off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Virgil ahead


	16. Of Everything Green and Radioactive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The glowing sea is a fun place for a stroll and coursers are hard to find

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to combine finding Virgil and getting to the courser in the same chapter. I didn't go into great detail of the events of the glowing sea because I didn't want to write multiple fights, opting to focus on more character development.

The green haze covering the ground and sky made it difficult to see more than several meters in any direction. So far Danse and I faced some ferals and giant mosquitoes that were easy to handle in our power armor. I still wasn’t sure what we were looking for, because I doubt Virgil would have made a shack in the open. Danse suggested there may be some caves.   
“Hold on.” Danse said while holding out an open hand. “I don’t think we’re alone.”   
In the distance I could make out a rumbling sound, but it didn’t sound like radscorpions.   
“DEATHCLAW!” Danse yelled out while rapid firing his laser rifle. It came out to Danse, rushing us. I began firing at its belly, but it didn’t slow down and dodged some of the rounds.  
“DAMN IT!” I exclaimed when it trapped Danse to the ground and slashed at his helmet. Power armor was strong, but it could only take a few more attacks like that. I loaded up my pistol and began firing into its snarled face. I swear I pissed myself when it turned to me and roared.   
“Fuck that.” I said while trying to out run it, hoping to give Danse time to get up. “COME ON DANSE!” I screamed. I didn’t look to see if he got up, but I hear him firing on the beast. It didn’t take long before the deathclaw tackled me, forcing me to fall on my face. I felt the breath forced out of my lungs. I was helpless to defend myself, and prayed that Danse could get this thing off my back. I heard a gurgle and felt dead weight fall on me, Danse killing the beast.   
“Olivia!” He called to me. “Statues report?”   
“I feel like shit.” I laughed, feeling some blood come out of my mouth. I must have bite my cheek on the impact. Danse moved the deathclaw off me, the feeling relieving.  
“What kind of tactic was that?” Danse scolded while I got to my feet.   
“I knew that if I could get him off you, you could take him out.” I answered, “Every since my first encounter with a deathclaw, I panic when I see them.” Danse didn’t respond, moving past me.   
We saw a lot of plane wreckage, craters, and destroyed buildings. This was were the bombs hit Boston, giving me flashbacks to the smoke that rose into the air before the vault lowered. In the distance Danse and I could make out a cave. We hoped this was the one. Danse entered the cave first, leading as he always does. I kept my back to him to make sure no more hostiles followed us here. There were tin can alarms we couldn’t avoid setting off, and turrets near a lit opening.   
“Stop right there.” A supermutant with glasses commanded. I froze at the sight, albeit a funny one. Danse held up his laser rifle. “You’re not Kellogg. Are you some distraction for him to come out at me?”   
I held out my hand to force Danse to lower his gun. “Calm down,” I said softly, “I killed Kellogg. I just want some information from you, I promise.” He seemed to relax.   
“You?” His eyes wide, “What information do you want?” I stepped out of my power armor to look him in the eyes. Danse protesting.   
“I need to know how to get into the Institute.” I said.   
“Are you crazy? That's nearly impossible, why would you want that?” He asked.   
“They stole my baby, Shaun, and killed my husband Nate. I know they use teleportation to get in and out, now I need you to help me do the same." I replied.   
"I-I don't know. I'm sorry, they've taken people in the past…" he trailed off.   
"Please," I walked to him and grabbed one of his hands in both of mine, earning another shocked look. "Please Virgil, I need to find my son. I don't care if it kills me. You may look like a supermutant, but I can see the humanity still in your eyes." I pleaded, looking into his eyes.   
"Oh-," he cleared his throat, "I was a bioscientist, but I may be able to calculate a way for you to get in. I need something in return though." He kept his hands in mine. "If you get in, I need you to bring me back a serum that could reverse this state. It's in the closed section of the bioscience department. Can you do that for me?"   
"Of course." I answered.   
"Then give me a week to draw up the schematics." He responded.   
"Oh thank you Virgil!" I exclaimed and wrapped my arms as far as I could, giving him a hug. He tensed, then relaxed and placed a hand on my back.   
“That’s not all though.” He said, gently pushing me away from their embrace. “Do you know what a courser is?”   
“No, should I?” I replied, confused.   
“No. They are synths that are highly trained for combat. The Institute built them to hunt down escaped synths. They have a relay chip device in their heads.” Virgil continued.   
“Okay...that should be fine then.” I said. “How should I find one?”   
“Your pipboy should be able to intercept a signal once tuned to the Classical Radio Station. I suggest heading to the CIT ruins.” He answered.   
“One courser chip on the way! Thanks Virgil.” I said while climbing into my power armor.   
“Don’t underestimate it! I need you to get into the Institute as much as you need to!” He shouted back.   
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back in no time.” I waved on the way out with Danse, who had been very quiet throughout the exchange.   
…

Why were you so...friendly, toward that mutant?” Danse asked while we wandered around the CIT ruins, myself no longer wearing the power armor that made me feel enclosed.   
“Why wouldn’t I? He may be scary to look at, but he’s still human under that green shell.” I replied, feeling a little irritated.   
“He’s an abomination that should be destroyed.” He stated.   
I whipped myself around toward him, “So what, were you just going to get the information you needed from him and kill him? Is that what the Brotherhood stands for Danse?”   
“I-I” Danse stutter, eyes wide at my snap.   
“You what? Didn’t understand just how evil that sounds? Virgil wants to cure himself and help me, but you can’t see past his skin?” I pushed.   
“Olivia you seem very upset-”   
“Yes I’m upset!” I yelled, my eyes glazing over with raw emotion. “I spent my childhood, and most of my adulthood, before the war having to deal with people with similar mindsets as you. Just because I was a little darker than them and have more textured hair. People would be cruel to me and treat me like I wasn’t human. Yet here I see this man who is hurting, suffering. He hates what has happened to him and now has at the first friendly interaction I’m sure he’s had since he got here.” I continued, “He is willing to put his trust in complete strangers, one who even held a gun to him in his own dwelling, because you don’t like the way he looks. Virgil hates himself more than you could ever hate him. If you had half the humanity he does, you could look in his eyes and see the hell he is living.” I turned my head away from Danse before he could see me cry. Hearing him say the little he did brought back all the emotions of the racism I faced in my life. I looked to my pipboy and picked up my pace away from Danse.   
“Olivia wait,” Danse called out while running toward me, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”   
“I know, that almost makes it worse. You say things with no regard to your audience.” I countered, “I know you asked me to join the Brotherhood on the flight here, but I’m not cut out for it. My answer is no.”  
“I’m sorry Olivia, I should have considered my words better. I encourage you to make this decision out of haste and anger. Please,” He got in front of me and stopped my walking with his hand on my shoulder. I let out a sigh and looked up at him. I could see that he was sincere.   
“Oh don’t give me those puppy dog eyes Danse. Look, I’m sorry I went off on you. It’s a sore spot for me. I think it’s impossible to make big dividing lines among populations to just group people and separate them.” I continued, “Everyone is an individual and we should treat them as such, when we don’t then we make hate and war.”   
“I never thought of it like that.” Danse replied, eyebrows raised. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”   
“I’m glad anytime I can make people think,” I laughed weakly. “I would like to talk to you about this more in a relaxed setting, sometime soon.” I offered a smile.   
“I would enjoy that.” He smiled back. I heard an alert from my pipboy that a new signal was available off of the classical radio. It had to be the courser, so I quickly tuned to followed the clicking.   
“He seems close by.” I said to Danse as the clicks came in faster and faster as we walked away from the ruins and toward some research buildings. I walked up the steps to a plant breeding building that towered several stories high.   
“This is it,” I started, “are you ready?” I asked to Danse.   
“Locked and loaded.” He replied while turning the safety off his rife.   
…

“The courser is now on the third floor.” A voice rang from overhead speakers. The building was full of Gunners who proved to be very difficult hostiles.   
“To your left!” Danse shouted. Three Gunners dressed in military fatigues were running to use. One was a private with a laser pistol and the other two had 10mm pistols. A laser whizzed past my head, singeing some of my hair.   
“Hey fuck you!” I yelled, unloading a clip into his legs to cripple him. One of the two gunners left running managed to graze my leg as I took cover behind a flipped table. Danse stood between myself and the doorway and shot one of the men in the head, turning him to ash. The bullet from the remaining Gunner ricocheted off his armor as he fired into the man, dropping him quickly.   
“We’re clear.” He said to me.  
“Thanks Danse,” I replied while slowing walking toward him and finishing wrapping my bleeding leg.   
“Are you okay?” He asked, voice filled with concern.   
“Yeah just a graze, let’s keep going up.” I responded.   
We ran up a few more flights of stairs, facing a few more Gunners on the way. The last set led us to a room full of barricaded Gunner commanders. They opened fire as soon as the door began to open, a bullet landing in my left arm. I yelled as the impact, the hot bullet stuck in a muscle.  
“Olivia!” Danse exclaimed while spraying the room with his rifle.   
“Fuck fuck fuck.” I muttered in pain while searching my bag for a grenade I picked up on a dead Gunner on the way up here. “Take this assholes!” I yelled while pulling the pin with my teeth and tossing it over their cover. I heard the men scream before the grenade exploded. I saw parts of bodies fly into the air, an arm landing outside the room to the hallway we stood in. I could feel my stomach turn at the gore and promptly vomited on the ground, bracing myself against the metal wall.   
“Oh god.” I said after the stomach acid subsided.   
“Have you never used a grenade before?” Danse asked.   
“No...it’s-“ I held my hand to my mouth to fend off my stomach threatening to spew again, “it’s horrible. I don’t think I can do that again.” I replied.   
“You did good work.” Danse placed a hand on my shoulder. “I think you have the potential to be a great soldier.”   
“I’m not cut out for this Danse. I want to save people, not blow them to pieces.” I felt flushed.   
“You should have more confidence in yourself Olivia.” Danse responded with a smile, “I see it in you.”   
“Thanks Danse, I think I can continue on up now.” I lied, my stomach churning. I didn’t have time to waste, so I pushed through the nausea. The Courser was just ahead, and nothing was going to stop me now.


	17. What a load of Chip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting the chip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Olivia's emotions are more on edge, so she's sensitive.

“I don’t know the password I swear!” A Gunner cried.  
“It’s here and I’ll find it.” A monotone voice said.   
I approached the courser who was dawning a padded black trench coat. His hair was close shaved, his skin olive like mine, and he had a stealthboy on his arm.   
“Who are you? What is your business here?” He asked me.   
“Pizza delivery, obviously.” I replied sarcastically, using humor to mask my terror. This was the best of the Institute and I was about to take him head on.   
“If you refuse to answer me seriously I will have to assume you a threat.” He responded.   
“I need that chip in your head.” I stated.   
“That, you cannot have.” He replied and turned on his stealthboy. It was Kellogg all over again. I darted behind a cage in the middle of the building and tried to cover his rifle’s rounds. Danse sprayed the room to try and get some idea of wear he was. Nothing hit and I began to panic about where he was. He could have left the room altogether for all we knew.   
“We need a new tactic,” I told Danse, “this isn’t working and is costing us ammunition.”   
“What do you suggest?” Danse asked.   
“If we stand back to back he can’t sneak up on us too well. I picked up another grenade on the way here so if we can get an idea of where he is I’ll blow the area. It should be enough to damage that stealthboy.”   
“That’s impressive.” Danse smiled at me as I moved to him. A shot fired out by my head. The courser is on my side, so I launched the frag grenade toward him. I clenched my body, preparing for any friendly fire. As expected the stealthboy wore off and we could see the courser run out of view. Somehow I avoided anything more than a headache from the explosion. Danse raced to the courser and I turned to the opposite direction, hoping to trap him. Danse beat me to him and was in a firing match. I took the opportunity to fire into his weapon wielding arm, crippling it. His rifle dropped to the ground and he let out a howl. I wasn’t expecting him to start running at me, but there he was a few feet from me. I tried firing at him but my clip was empty and I didn’t have time to reload. In a rush of adrenaline I ran toward him too, throwing myself at his legs to trip him up. Danse stopped firing to avoid hitting me. The courser had landed on top of me, his weight beyond human. I couldn’t breath under him. Lungs burning as I tried to reach my combat knife.   
“You may kill me, but I’m not letting you go out forgetting me.” The courser unexpectedly snapped, flipping me over and grabbing my knife. Everything went in slow motion. Danse was yelling something, red lasers moving past us in the air. The courser brought the knife up above my face and began to strike it down. I didn’t move, frozen. I didn’t feel the slash at first, just the warmth of the blood pouring down my face and neck. This really felt like the end, all my work gone to waste. I felt a shameful bittersweet feeling. I want to find Shaun, but I also wanted out of this hell. The courser was pulled into the air, Danse lifting him off me in a fit of rage. He slammed him onto the floor and fired the killing blow. I stayed on the floor, as if I was dead. I could hear that Danse was speaking, but I couldn’t make out the noise. Images of Nate flashed through my head as I felt the tears stream down my cheeks. Suddenly everything came into focus again and I could hear Danse’s yelling and feel the burning on my face. Danse pulled me up to inspect my wound.   
“Okay Olivia,” He started, “you’re going to be okay. That gash is pretty deep though, you can expect it to leave a scar.” I sat there dumbfounded, just staring into his eyes. His eyes were the same color as Nate’s. Danse was cleaning up the blood on my face with a cloth from my bag. I could almost see Nate in his face. Without much thought, I kissed him. He looked shocked, although I would be too. Danse didn’t shove me away though, but hesitantly placed a hand on my back. He wasn’t quite pulling me into the kiss, but he wasn’t pulling away. My lips departed his, my face just inches away from his.   
“I’m sorry.” I whispered, about to pull away from him.   
“Don’t be.” Danse replied to my surprise.   
“I shouldn’t have done that without your consent. I’m just so overwhelmed by everything that happened I...I don’t know what took me over.” I responded.   
“Olivia,” He started, gently placing a finger under my chin, “I don’t know anything about...about this, but I liked it. We can talk about it after we get this chip to Virgil, if you wish.”   
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” I replied.   
…

“You really did it.” Virgil was surprised, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, you did take down Kellogg after all.”   
“Yeah.” I said weakly. I saw my face on the way up here and I was rather disgusted at my own reflection. Virgil seemed to pick up on my distress.   
“Uh, I have some bandages you are welcome to for your wound.” He offered.   
“Thank you Virgil.” I replied, my voice lost to myself. I could see that Virgil pitied me, he knows what it's like to not look the same as you once did.   
“I drew out those schematics for you. They are a little rough to read because of these big clumsy hands, but anyone with some technical background should be able to make it out.” He offered the paper to me. I grabbed in and looked down. I could see more tears of mine dripping on the paper. I handed it to Danse, worried I would blur the writing.   
“Thank you Vir-” I was interrupted by an abrupt, and awkward, embrace from Virgil.   
“You’ll need to get that chip decoded, but I’m sure you’ll find a way.” He said, “Just be careful in the Institute, for the both of us.” I looked up at him and offered a weak smile and head nod.   
“I won’t let you down,” I replied will taking one of his hands in mine, “We’re going to get you back to normal.” With that, I headed out the cave and onto the vertibird.   
…

Danse and I were back on the Pwryden now, waiting to speak to elder Maxson. Danse said the brotherhood has the resources to build the device. Truthfully I didn’t care who or what built it, I just needed it to work.   
“Olivia, there is something I need to talk to you about.” Danse said while we sat on the benches of the main observatory. “It’s not about what happened after the courser was taken down.”   
“Oh,” I replied, relieved, “what’s on your mind Danse?”   
“I want you to rethink the offer to join the Brotherhood. I believe you will be a key part of our fight with the Institute. If you’ll allow it, I want to field promote you to initiate now and recommend you be awarded the rank of knight for your service thus far.” He said.  
“I’m not cut out to be a soldier Danse,” I countered leaning my head on my hand and looking toward him. “If it was Nate that was here, he would be the best damn soldier you could ever have.”   
“You’ve already proven quite the soldier Olivia.” Danse responded. “You took down deathclaws, ferals, synths, and a courser. You show the qualities we respect most, courage, tenacity, and motivation. You’re not letting anything get in your way.”   
“Thanks Danse, but-”   
“And...I personally would like to continue our mission together. Please.” Danse interrupted. He was giving me those damn puppy dog eyes again, although this time he was blushing.   
“Okay...I’ll try but if it becomes too much for me, I won’t be able to stay.” I caved.   
“Thank you Olivia,” Danse said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Here’s Elder Maxson now.”   
Maxson came in dramatically, his fur lined coat swaying as he marched in. His face was set stern, and his eyes stayed on me. He must have been looking at my scar, it was pretty horrendous. Danse stood quickly, but I stayed seated. I was too tired from the mission to try and spend energy standing.   
“Proceed with the mission briefing Paladin Danse.” Maxson commanded, still looking at me.   
“Olivia and I located the Institute defector. We obtained schematics of the transporter needed to infiltrate the Institute. Olivia and myself took down a courser to get the teleportation chip from his head to make the machine work.” Danse spoke like he rehearsed it.  
“Good. Give the schematics to Proctor Ingram to begin preparations at once.” He replied.   
“Sir, if I may?” Danse asked.   
“Continue.” Maxson replied.   
“I field promoted Olivia to initiate, and would like to personally sponsor her into our ranks as a knight.” Danse responded.   
“That’s quite the recommendation Olivia,” Maxson turned to me. “I will allow it, but she’ll be under your command. Also, I wish to speak with her tonight. I have questions for you.” He spoke to me directly.   
“Of course.” I answered, drawing a look from Danse as I didn’t address Maxson appropriately. I never liked the titles and ranks in any setting, and I wasn’t about to change now.   
“Dismissed.” He stated, Danse and I heading out the door.   
“Now that you are folded in our ranks, it is important for you to address other members appropriately.” Danse said to me, “Always address him as Elder Maxson, such as you would do for other knights, scribes, and proctors.”   
“Do I have to start calling you Paladin Danse now too?” I replied, some irritation in my tone.   
“Oh. No need to address me as such unless in an official capacity.” He responded.   
“I don’t like it Paladin Danse.” I stated coldly. I knew the moment I caved into his wishes he would expect me to change.   
“Olivia-”   
“Paladin Danse, request for dismissal to wash up before my meeting with Elder Maxson.” I interrupted, not wanting to give Danse the time to try and make this look like anything other than an attempt to make me conform. This is exactly why I didn’t want to join.   
“Granted.” Danse replied, defeated. “Report to me in the mess hall after you clean up Olivia.”   
“Knight Olivia.” I countered, quickly walking away. I know my reaction was a little extreme for what he was asking of me, but it’s the premise. He knew who I was and how I operate, he shouldn’t have asked me to conform like any other person. It took until I was in medical school to actually free myself from the pressures of the world and break from the mold I was forced into. You’re too loud, people would say. You’re too quiet, you should straighten your hair, you should wear it natural, you should dress up more, why do you look like a slut. I spent my whole life before Nate like that, and I refuse to let anyone try to change me. If I need to make changes to grow, it will be on my own terms. I made it to the washing area while I was lost in thought. There were buckets of clean water sitting in partitioned sections of a room full of drains. I pulled my abraxo cleaner and signature tarberry conditioner out of my bag. I could see the dirt and dried blood falling onto the floor and mixing with the suds, making its way to the closest drain. I took care to wash most sensitive areas twice, as sweat really likes to collect in the places you want it the least. My hair got the most attention, I needed to smell something calming. The only clothing I bought with me that wasn’t armor was a yellow long-sleeve button down blouse and the only black pair of black trousers I owned. I assumed that at some point I may have to dress up a bit beyond flannel and jeans since I don’t know the protocols for meeting people in the Brotherhood. I dried my hair a bit on an old cotton t shirt and left it down to air dry before my meeting with Maxson. I boarded the vertibird to take me up to the Prydwen. 

…

“Reporting in.” I said to Danse as I walked into the mess hall. He was turned away from me so he didn’t notice me walk in. Everyone in the room was staring at me, which was probably due to the bright yellow shirt glowing against my olive skin. I knew I stood out like a sore thumb. Danse looked very stunned. I sat in the seat next to him and took a can of purified water from the center of the table. I took a long sip from the can, glancing over to Danse who was still staring at me. “Was there something important you needed to discuss with me?” I asked, snapping him out of his apparent trance. The people in the Commonwealth must really never see people cleaned and dressed properly.   
“Yes,” Danse cleared his throat, “but I seem to have trouble remembering what that was.”   
“You too huh?” I asked, Danse looking confused, “everytime I just dress in normal clothes, wash my face up, and let my hair down everyone starts staring at me or flirting with me. I know I’m fairly attractive but this is just getting creepy. I’ve seen plenty of beautiful people in the Commonwealth. It’s starting to make me feel like a piece of meat.”   
“Well I don’t know about the rest of the men that have met you, but I’ve never seen anyone that looks like you.” Danse replied.   
“Well maybe all the radiation exposure over the generations inhibited large curly hair.” I laughed.   
“I’m glad it didn’t take yours.” Danse said, casually touching my hair. Normally I would have chewed out anyone who touched my hair without permission, but I kinda liked it this time. Maybe I need some physical attention to curb this depressive episode. I know that it’s not sustainable to use sexual contact to treat my mental health, but I don’t have the time put into real treatment. It’s either sex, drugs, or alcohol for the time being. “Ah now I remember,” Danse started, “Elder Maxson will want you to report to him in about half an hour. I wanted brief you on procedures and diction.”


	18. Elder Maxson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to fulfill that Sole/Maxson tag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: sexual assault themes.   
Skip to the end notes to know what happened without reading it.

“Olivia?” Maxson questioned, standing in the doorway of his room having answered my knock.   
“That’s me,” I quirked, “I forget that people think I look so different like this.”   
“It suits you.” He replied, ushering me toward an open chair with a wave of his hand. “I suspect you have many questions about why I asked you here.”   
“Well a girl always has one idea when a man asks her to come to his room.” I laughed. “Although there is one serious question, do I need to address you as Elder Maxson? Danse said I needed to now that I’m a member of the Brotherhood, but I’ve never been one for titles. Heck, I even had my patients call me by first name.”   
“You may address me as Maxson, I like hearing it from you.” He answered while sitting down on the chair across from me. My face warmed. I didn’t expect him to be so flirtatious, it kind of reminded me of Hancock.   
“So, what is it you needed from me tonight?” I asked.   
“Interesting phrasing,” he started, “I wanted to ask you a few things. First, are you fit for duty after that fight with the courser? I know Paladin Danse believes you are ready to return to the field, but I could see the look in your eyes that I’m all too familiar with. When I got my face scar, I felt like a part of me was changed forever. It isn’t a feeling to take lightly.”   
“I’m glad you care Maxson, I’m not feeling up to a mission yet. I thought you may have understood. I have scars from a stab to the gut that I barely survived, bullets to the leg and arm, and even a burn from a laser rifle...but this is different. I can’t hide this. I’ll always have to face it everyday and know that I’ll never look as well as I did before. I know it’s vain of me.” I sighed.   
“It’s not,” Maxson rest a hand on mine, “I felt similar. Know it doesn’t change you and you will soon embrace it as a new part of you. I don’t want you on a mission until you feel fit for it, it’s a risk to yourself and others if you aren’t of clear mind and body.”   
“I understand.” I replied.   
“Now for my second reason, I wanted to thank you for proving trustworthy,” he responded, “You held up your end of the agreement and delivered us the key into the Institute. When you are ready, I want you to be the one to find a way to decode the chip. Proctor Tegan is looking into a way to get it decoded, but you have an ability to find people who know what we need. You have impressive instincts that will serve you well on the trip.”   
“Thank you.” I said.   
“My last reason is to tell you that you have become a distraction to me. It’s interfering with my ability to focus on the task at hand.” He stated.  
“How have I done this?” I questioned, eyebrows furrowed.   
“By being a woman that is unlike any I have ever seen.” He answered, “You have drawn my adoration with your loyalty, tenacity, will, and beauty.”   
“Oh.” I said, flushed. No matter how much I aged, I still get flustered like a schoolgirl when complimented. It’s pretty embarrassing.   
Maxson leaned closer to me and cusped the side of my face, resting his hand on top of my curls and pressing them slightly to my face. I felt a flood between my legs, the tenderness of his words and actions a sharp contrast to his stern demeanor and hardened appearance. I reminded me of Yefim, but more extreme. Maybe the similarity between the two is what had me aroused.   
“I want to lay with you tonight,” Maxson finally broke the silence, “but I don’t want to make you feel pressured or have you thinking that I do this to all our female recruits. I mean it when I say you’re the only woman to have taken my focus off my duties.”   
“You think having sex with me will let you clear yourself of me? Wouldn’t it make it worse?” I countered, not actually saying no to the proposal.   
“All my distractions now are about what I would feel if I bedded you. I know once that curiosity is satisfied I will no longer plague myself with the thoughts. I have no desire to have a relationship beyond the physical, it would only damage my ability to lead.” He replied.   
“I am interested.” I admitted. “Just this once though, I also have no capacity to build a relationship while I’m still hunting for Shaun. I would like to do this though.”   
“Perfect.” Maxson said, pressing his lips to mine. They were rough, but pleasurable against mine. His hands were large and he knew how to use them. He pulled me into him by pushing my lower back upward and onto this lap. I could feel his erection through his pants. He moved to kissing my neck, grabbing my hair in one hand and stroking my back with the other.  
“Pull it,” I told him. He looked up with a devious smirk and pulled at my hair, forcing my head back and exposing my neck more to him. He raked his lips all over my neck, sucking at the side. I’m sure he left a mark. I let out a soft moan when he grabbed my breast with the hand that was on my back. I scratched at the coat on his back, urging him to remove it. He took the hint and began to use the hand that was on my neck to remove his coat. Once free of it, I began to pull at his shirt.  
“I got it, you too.” He said.   
I unbuttoned my top with fingers that trembled with excitement. Maxson was criminally well muscles, not an ounce of fat on him. He had many scars and burns on his torso, but that just made it all the more enjoyable. Maxson had been watching my undressing like a hawk. I heard him breath a bit harder when I got it all off. In a sudden move, he grabbed my waist at both sides. Maxson picked me up into the air and onto his bed. He was on top of me before I could react. There was a sudden change from tender to aggressive, and I didn’t know if I should enjoy it or not. He ripped my pants off of me, drawing out a yelp. Before I could tell him to slow down he was on my mouth again, his hands fumbling at his pants.   
“Wait Max-” I muttered, interrupted by a sting of his member bottoming out inside of me. Maxson didn’t take this slow, but rutted into me. It was the same speed at which Sturges used that night on the workbench, but the emotion behind it was cold. I felt like I was being used more than enjoyed. I put my hands on Maxson’s chest, pushing him enough to make him stop and look at me. His eyes looked different, like something took over him.   
“Slow down Maxson,” I commanded, “I like it rough but you need to communicate with me more before you plow me.”   
“I’m sorry Olivia,” he replied, “I-I don’t know what happened. I lost control when I saw you like that.”   
“It’s okay, you just scared me is all. You can continue.” I responded.   
Maxson followed my command and slowed his pace. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did before now. I wouldn’t say it was bad, but rather disappointing. His movement had no motion to really get me anywhere. He just pushed in and out of me, giving me no other attention. Lost in my own thoughts, Maxson already finished on my stomach and collapsed on the bed next to me. His breathing was intense like he ran a marathon, shocking for only two minutes of action.  
“I’m going to clean up and head out now.” I said.   
“You’re dismissed.” He replied, even though I didn’t ask.   
As I head out the door I saw Danse just a few yards away while leaning against the wall.  
“Were you waiting for me?” I questioned.   
“Yes, I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Danse replied.   
“Well...I’m okay. It wasn’t the best experience I’ve had.” I offered weakly.   
“You seem...distressed?” Danse said, confused.   
“I guess I am. Do you think it would be okay for me to bunk with you again tonight? I don’t feel very comfortable tonight.” I stated.   
“Of course.” Danse answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Elder Maxson was rough on Olivia in a way that made her feel endangered and violated during sex. She had some pain and discomfort. It is implied that she wanted to stop but couldn't say it before Maxson finished.


	19. That's the Commonwealth's Ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Paladin Danse booty and a trip back to Diamond City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Past Due for some fighting

I woke up from my poor sleeping from the sound of Danse getting ready. I heard the bed squeak slightly and his feet hit the floor. I pretended to still be asleep so I could peek at his morning routines. I was not expecting him to start changing in the room though. He had his back turned from me and was taking off his brotherhood orange suit. I marveled at his ass as he bent down to pull the suit off his feet. It was toned and fat at the same time. I had an urge to run over and slap it, but that would be the worst thing to do right now. Danse turned to face the small sink in his room, grabbing some water and a washcloth to clean his face. He must not have noticed my eyes on him because he was still nude. At this angle I could see everything, and Danse was a shower. He had a cute trail of dark hair the trailed from his chest to a triangular bush on his groin. It almost looked like he shaved it that way. I quickly closed my eyes as Danse turned to look at me. I heard him walk back to his clean clothes and put them on. I yawned and shifted in my bed mat on the floor to fake just waking up. I even added a nice stretched before sitting up.   
“Good morning Danse.” I said.   
“Good morning Olivia, it’s good to see we’re on a personal name basis again.” He replied.   
“I’m sorry about the Danse, I’ve just never been good at conforming. I’ve been in the Commonwealth for over a year now and I still stick out.” I responded.   
“That’s alright, I knew it would take a while for you to adjust when I asked you to join.” Danse started as I got up and began brushing my teeth at the sink. “There was something I wanted to clear the air about. I wanted to apologize to you, pressuring you to join the Brotherhood. I’m glad you’re here, but I’m worried about you. You seem distressed every time you’re on the Pwydren. You haven’t slept a single night in the common area.”   
“No need to apologise Danse. I chose to do this for you, you didn’t make me.” I countered, seeing Danse’s cheeks begin to tint. “I...I care about you Danse.”   
“I-I didn’t know you felt that way. It gives me a lot to think about.” He replied, eyes wide.   
“Don’t think too hard about it, it’s better if you don’t have feelings for me. I think I would just break your heart anyways, I’m not ready for commitment.” I sighed.   
“What are you looking for?” Danse asked.   
I looked up a bit taken aback by the question. Every time anyone has asked me that question it was about Shaun or another person, but this time someone was asking me about myself. “I think I’m looking for escape.”   
“How are you doing that now?” Danse questioned.  
“Well I’m not much for drugs or drinking so...that really only leaves one other type of unhealthy coping mechanism.” I laughed.   
“If you need that from me, I could provide it.” Danse stated, “I don’t want you getting hurt from random civilians.”   
“I appreciate it Danse, but I won’t take you up on it unless it’s what you want to do intrinsically. It is ironic that you should mention that now.” I said.   
“How so?” he replied.   
“My meeting with Maxson...he uh,” I hesitated, feeling a lump in my throat remembering the emotional stress he gave me toward the end of our encounter, “he hurt me.”   
“What?” Danse replied loudly, as though it was unbelievable.   
“He wanted something more from me, physically. I was in a poor state of mind and tired, making a decision I wish I didn’t now.” I continued. “During the...encounter-” I felt like I was choking, “he forced himself rather hard on me without any warning. It started consensually but now I feel violated. I want to forget it happened.” I grabbed at my own arms.   
“Olivia I-I don’t know what to say.” Danse replied, “I don’t believe Elder Maxson meant to harm you, but I believe what you say. Is there something I can do?”   
“Hold me?” I suggested. Danse wrapped his arms around me, his grip making it hard to breath. I needed that pressure though. Pressure was the best way to stop my panic attacks without medication. We stood like that for a few minutes before I let him go.   
“Maxson did give me my new mission. I wanted to rest here first, but now I think I would feel better on the road.” I stated. “He wants me to find someone who can decode the courser chip, and I would like to take you with me.”   
“Of course.” Danse said. He left the room to get his power armor while I strapped up in my vault suit and reinforced leather armor. 

…

“Sad to see that these people have to hide in a place like this.” Danse said as we entered Diamond City.  
“It’s not so bad,” I countered, “There are many people here that enjoy safety and entrepreneurship, there’s even free schooling.”  
We made our way to Nick’s, Danse already tensed up. I entered the building first while Danse struggled to get his armor through the door. Nick looked up from his files with surprise that I was back.   
“Olivia, good to see you Doll. Still with that Paladin huh?” He said.   
“Missed you too Nick.” I started, then rubbed my head, “About that though, I kinda joined the Brotherhood.” He looked flabbergasted.   
“Why on earth would you do that? You’re not as close minded as those racists.” Nick asked.   
“Watch your tone there synth.” Danse threatened.   
“Danse back off, I swear you make me wish you discovered you were a synth one day.” I commanded, “I know we contrast sharply in a lot of areas, but they have the support and resources I need to get to Shaun. I also developed some friendships there.” Nick seemed to be satisfied with my reasoning. “I wish this was just a social call, but I need your help.”   
“Anything.” He replied. I do think he really enjoys pleasing me.   
“I need to know who or what has the skills to decode a courser chip. It would be someone with some Institute experience.” I said.  
“Well, if the Brotherhood can’t help you,” He started, “The only other people who might are the Railroad. But they are hidden and I don’t know a way in.”   
“We cannot trust the Railroad Olivia. Their mission is to free the synth monstrosities that we aim to destroy. We-”   
“Enough Danse.” I cut Danse off, “You do realize I don’t share the Brotherhoods hatred of synths? They can’t help who they are and shouldn’t be hurt for it. I’d trust a feral is it meant getting this information off the chip.” Danse shut up at my snapping. “Who may know how to get in?” I asked Nick, who was smirking.   
“Hancock may know someone who can get in. He is the most informed person this side of the Commonwealth.” He answered.   
“Getting any information off him will be a breeze for me. Would you like to come to Goodneighboor with me, I could use your company.” I responded.  
“Would metal head here let me?” Nick directed at Danse.   
“I think I’ve had enough of your tone-”   
“He isn’t commanding me right now, so yes. I’m in charge right now.” I interrupted again. Danse cut his eyes at me, I could almost feel the edge. “Danse you have to learn to play nice with my friends, for me at least.” His eyes softened a bit.   
“Understood...but only for you.” He replied.   
…

“Goddamn raiders!” I yelled. There was a gang of seven raiders engaging us, most at range. Their leader had a sniper rifle and was on the roof of a building. He kept us pinned to a walled building to cover from his shots, all it would take is one bullet to the head to kill us. Nick was using his pistol to hold off the raiders rushing toward us. One was a buff woman using a lead pipe, the other a drugged out man with sunken eyes and a bat. Nick crippled the woman who was hurling slurs at us, but the man was frenzied. “I’m tired of these psycho users.” I said while reloading my pistol. Danse was working on taking down that sniper since he was the one with all the armor.   
“I’m going to need backup!” Nick exclaimed when the bat struck the door frame, splintering the wood.  
“Coming!” I responded while rushing the man. I shot his knee cap, making him tumble. The drugs in his system made him unable to register the pain, so he continued his assault on Nick. His bat made contact with his chest, sending out some sparks. I jumped on top of his arms to prevent another swing, and shot him point blank in the head. Blood splattered across my body, making me nauseous. “You okay Nick?” I asked.   
“Yeah thanks doll.” He replied as a shot rang out and I fell to my hands and knees. “OLIVIA!” Nick yelled. My thigh was bleeding all over the ground, a bullet lying on the wood from passing straight through my leg. I heard the sniper scream and hit the ground from the roof, Danse having taken him down. More bullets were sprayed our way as the remaining raiders closed in on us. Nick pulled me away from their view dug in my bag for a stimpak. “I’m going to fix you right up.” He said softly.   
“You better.” Danse said coldly to Nick.   
“I didn’t see you rushing to her side.” Nick countered.   
“Stop fighting you two.” I scolded. The stimpak stopped the bleeding and mended the torn muscle and skin. It still hurt really bad, but I was going to be okay.   
“When I get my hands on the bitch I’m going to put her in her place.” A man shouted toward us. I shivered at the thought of what he would do if he caught me. I glanced over the door frame to get a better look at our company. One man with a rifle, one man with a pistol, the rest carrying shotguns. I leaned over again into view long enough to put a round through one man’s head, his partners spraying at the door. I heard a loud ticking noise coming in from behind the raiders and felt my blood freeze.   
“Get down and hide!” I commanded. “We got mutants inbound.” Nick and myself crouched behind a desk that had fallen in building crumbles.   
“The Brotherhood never hides!” Danse replied.   
“Danse get out of view. Let the raiders and mutants take care of each other.” I demanded, Danse listening this time. We could hear the shouting, explosion, and gunfire from all around us. It was the supermutants that won the match, but they hadn’t found us yet. If we stay hidden long enough, they will move on. I could hear a hard patter of paws on the blood stained floor. I clenched myself in an attempt to not breathe, knowing it was a mutant hound. None of our firepower would matter, because it would rip one of our heads off before the other could kill it. Its sniffing was audible from our hiding spot. I put a hand to Nick to push down his gun and held up a hold position sign to Danse who was peeking down the stairs. I had an idea that may work from my experiences with animals. I slowly moved from cover, body close to the ground. “Shhhhh, who’s a good boy.” I whispered. The hound cocked his head at me, but did not signal his masters. “Look, I’m not a threat.” I said gently as I rolled on my back, exposing my stomach. The beast came over and sniffed at my belly, his giant muzzle putting painful pressure on my organs. When he opened his mouth like he was going to bite me, I didn’t move to defend myself. The hound accepted that I saw him as alpha and walked away with a snotty snort. We went back into hiding until all the supermutants left.   
“How the hell did you manage that?” Nick asked, impressed.   
“That was an incredibly unnecessary risk soldier.” Danse scorned.   
“I grew up on a farm where there was always some big animal that could be aggressive. Most of them, especially dogs, see exposing your most sensitive tissue as a sign of defeat. It knew I wasn’t a threat so it left.   
“You really are something else you know.” Nick said, giving me a peck on the forehead. I could hear Danse tense up and make an angry noise from his throat. We continued our trek to Goodnieghboor.   
“Here we are boys.” I said at the gate.


	20. Truth or Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A break before things get serious again. Getting Olivia drunk means getting her loose and she takes her games serious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explicit Sexual Content

“Look who came crawling back.” Hancock joked when we walked into his statehouse. “I’ve been missing you.” He flirted, pulling me into an embrace by the waist and kissing me on the cheek.  
“Get your hands off of her freak.” Danse demanded.  
Hancock leaned to the side of my head, still embracing me, to get a view at Danse. “Who the hell let in this asshole?” Hancock said to the watchman at his door.  
“Actually Hancock he’s with me.” I responded.  
“Now I know you’re not the racist type, why are you traveling with him?” He asked.  
“It’s a long story that I’d rather share over drinks, but I’m here on urgent business.” I answered.  
“We need a way into the Railroad.” Nick pitched in.  
“The Railroad huh?” Hancock questioned, still holding me to him.  
“Are you trying to merge with me here John?” I laughed. He smiled at hearing his first name.  
“Why wouldn’t I want to Sunshine?” He grinned while releasing me. I turned my head to look at Danse, his face flushed. He seemed equal parts angry and disgusted. “I don’t know anyone in the Railroad, but I have heard rumors of how to find them.”  
“Anything you can tell me would help me so much.” I replied.  
“Alright, but there’s a price.” Hancock cooed.  
“Just as I would expect from a lowlife like you.” Danse hissed.  
“You want a piece of me meathead?” Hancock threw back.  
“You wouldn’t last a minute.” Danse threatened, moving closer. Fahrenheit moved in behind Danse with her minigun ready.  
“Woah guys, tone it down.” I put both my hands up between them. “No one is fighting here. I need you both alive. Please John,” I looked into his eyes, “Whatever you need.”  
“Well for one I need you to keep calling me John,” his voice raspier than usual. He pulled my head up higher by the bottom of my chin, “and my price for information is having you over for drinks tonight. Not bringing the tin can over here.”  
“Can Nick come?” I asked.  
“Whatever you want Sunshine.” He smiled.  
“Alright, looks like we have a deal.” I replied. “I’ll go rent a room for you Danse.”  
“You can’t seriously be considering this...thing’s offer.” Danse stated.  
“Danse, when are you going to learn to trust my judgement? Did I not get us to this point? I thought you believed in me?” I countered.  
“I-,” He stuttered and sighed, “I do Olivia...I just want not to get hurt.” His eyes cast down with shame. I walked over and put a hand on his arm.  
“I know Danse, but there is a difference between looking out for someone and suffocating them. I’ll be fine on my own here, you don’t know Hancock like I do-”  
“Oh that’s for sure.” Hancock teased.  
“Not helping.” I said shortly, my face turning red, “Just trust me Danse.” He shook his head in response. “Alright, let me get him settled and Nick and I will be back in a bit.”  
…

“Olivia,” Danse grabbed my arm as I was getting ready to leave. “I’m not going to try and stop you again, but will you please be careful?”  
“Of course Danse.” I replied, giving him a smile. I reached in my bag to grab a flannel shirt and a pair of slightly soiled jeans.  
“How do you know this Hancock?” Danse questioned as I began to remove my leather pads.  
“Heh, are you sure you want the answer to that?” Nick interjected.  
“Why wouldn’t I?” Danse replied, eyes wide.  
“We spent the night drinking and talking together last time I was in town.” I started while unzipping my vault suit. I felt comfortable changing in front of them at this point. Nick has already seen me naked when he was caring for me while I was unconscious, and I have seen Danse naked. “We got to...know each other really well.” I continued while peeling the suit off my legs.  
“Are you really just showing everything to us Olivia? Seems like Hancock really did rub off on you.” Nick laughed, not taking his glowing eyes off of me.  
“He really did, but seriously I feel comfortable around both of you.” I chuckled. “You don’t mind do you Danse?” I turned to the bed where he was sitting, down to just my underwear now. Danse had his back to me, breathing heavily with a hand on his forehead. “Are you okay Danse?”  
“It’s-it’s inappropriate for me, as your commanding officer, to see you in a manner like this.” He struggled to say.  
“He reminds me of someone else who turned his back while I changed.” I smirked at Nick.  
“Well you don’t see me making that mistake twice.” Nick winked.  
“How regular is it for you to expose yourself?” Danse said, turning his head slightly toward me.  
“Hey now, I don’t go asking you how many times you clean your armor.” I joked.  
“What does that mean?” He replied. Nick just laughed.  
“Anyways Danse,” I continued, “I got to know Hancock well enough that it feels like I’ve known him my whole life.” I had finished getting dressed. “Okay we’re going to head out now Danse. Be safe for me.” I pecked him on the cheek and headed out with my arm wrapped in Nicks, like couples walked before the war.  
…

“Another round!” Hancock bellowed as he poured three more shots of whiskey.  
“You should probably slow down there Hancock, our dame here ain’t looking too hot.” Nick said.  
“I look amazing, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I slurred. “You see my goodies?” I asked while pressing my breasts together.  
“Yeah she’s drunk.” Nick laughed.  
“I like it.” Hancock stated.  
“OH!” I exclaimed. “Let’s play truth or dare, but everyone must take at least one dare.”  
“Hell yeah!” Hancock yelled, taking a hit of jet.  
“We already caught up and got the information to find the Railroad, we should probably get some sleep to rest off this hangover Olivia is about to have.” Nick protested.  
“Ah please Nicky?” I pleaded.  
“Yeah, please Nicky?” Hancock mocked.  
“Fine.” Nick sighed.  
“YAY!” Hancock and I shouted in unison, hands in the air.  
“Alright, so we’re going to spin the bottle to see who will go first,” It landed on me, “and then who will ask or dare.” The bottle landed on Hancock.  
“Well Sunshine, truth or dare?” He asked.  
“Truth.” I replied.  
“Heh. How much did you enjoy that fucking I gave you?” He asked bluntly.  
“Holy shit.” Nick said, putting his face in his hands.  
“Oh that? Best sex I’ve had so far since thawing out.” Hancock grinned. I spent the bottle again, this time I asked Nick.  
“Truth.” He answered.  
“Well this isn’t going to be fun unless we start some dares.” Hancock protested.  
“Do you want to kiss me again?” I stated.  
“I-,” Nick stammered, “Well you probably won’t remember any of this, so yes. I want to kiss you again.”  
“My, my, my,” Hancock responded, “Didn’t know Nick here could have those kinds of desires.” Nick glanced away toward the wall.  
“Alright Hancock it’s your turn. Nick you get to ask.” I slurred again.  
“Dare.” Hancock shot.  
“I dare you to take off that hat.” Nick replied.  
“Oh that’s not good enough Nicky, I’m taking it all off.” Hancock quickly stripped out of his clothes. His member was exposed to us, his rugged skin tight and gnarled over his abs. I clapped my hands at the sight.  
“Okay now it’s back to you Nick.” I said.  
“Dare. Can’t be worse than that.” Nick answered. I leaned over to Hancock to get his permission before this dare. He shook his head yes. “Okay Nick since you want a kiss, kiss John.” I’ve never seen his eyebrows shoot up so high.  
“Uh, what?” Nick stuttered as Hancock closed in.  
“Can’t say no to a dare.” He laughed, grabbing Nick’s head in his hands. He leaned into his face, letting Nick close the gap. After a moment, Nick pressed his lips to Hancocks. I felt myself flood at the taboo sight. I expected the kiss to end at a peck, but Nick had his hands on Hancock’s neck to keep him pressed against him. I could see their tongues dance.  
"Whoa guys, looks like you're actually enjoying this." I said. They separated and looked at me.  
"I don't know what came over me." Nick breathed.  
"An emotion you've probably never experienced before, lust." Hancock replied.  
"Well, why stop the party here?" I asked.  
"I'm down if you're okay with it Nick. Would be fun to see you a little more human." Hancock stated.  
"I-I guess it couldn't hurt." Nick answered. Hancock moved closer to Nick and began kissing him again. He moved his hands down Nick's back, earning a sudden arching. Nick mimicked his actions.  
"Okay this is hot, let me join." I perked.  
"The more the merrier." Hancock exclaimed.  
The men stood up and I sandwiched between them. I kissed Nick, able to taste the jet Hancock left on him. Hancock worked on undressing and fondling me from behind. Nick kept his hands to my waist, his kissing much better than last time. Maybe he practiced.  
"Put a finger in me Nick." I said softly.  
"Uh, like this?" He questioned as he fumbled to find my opening.  
"Just like that Nicky, now curl your fingers." I whispered in his ear. He obeyed and I could feel myself relaxing.  
"We take this to the couch." Hancock suggested. I agreed and we walked to the sofa.  
"How are we going to...here?" Nick hesitantly asked.  
"Hancock can walk you through it Nick. You will do great, I promise." I leaned over the edge of the couch so that my ass was in the air and my sex exposed. I knew Hancock would know what I wanted.  
"Alright work her up again by sliding a few fingers in her like before." Hancock instructed. I arched in response to Nick's cool fingers entering me. "Good. Now go in and out of here quicker." Nick slowly quickened his pace.  
"More Hancock." I groaned.  
"Oh you want that already? You're such a naughty girl." Hancock responded, "Okay Nick, Sunshine here wants you to press your thumb on her ass."  
"What?" Nick replied. Confused at what he meant, Nick pressed his thumb into my ass cheek, drawing a laugh from Hancock and myself.  
"No here." Hancock moved Nick's thumb into my whole. I moaned in response.  
"You...like this?" Nick asked.  
"She like more than just that Nick." Hancock chuckled. "I think she's ready for something more. What kind of...equipment do you have there?"  
"I'm not anatomically complete." Nick sounded disappointed.  
"That's okay Nick, you don't need it." I looked back at him smiling. "Let's do it this way, John come here to my mouth. Nick, I want you to pound me with your fingers." I rolled onto my back and leaned my head back. Hancock got onto the couch on his knees, and placed his member in my mouth. I took it greedily and let him start thrusting. Nick had three fingers in me and was moving as hard as he could. My moans were audible even though Hancock was in my throat now. His precum was surprisingly sweet, probably from all the mentats. He began to grab my breast, squeezing them hard like I like it.  
"You're really wet." Nick stated as though confused.  
"Oh she gets wetter than the ocean Nick, you should feel her throat." He replied. I gurgled in agreement. I could feel myself getting closer, my body tightening. "Looks like she's about to finish." Hancock stated. "Her eyes are rolling back. Go a little faster Nick, you're in for a surprise." Nick jackhammered me, my core clenching down as though it wanted to push him out. I groaned on Hancock as an orgasm ripped through me. I could feel as liquid forced its way out me, some of it squirting onto Nick.  
"You gave her a big one Nick." Hancock mused. "I'm about to finish myself, why don't you let me in now?" He moved in front of me, pulling my legs up and positioning himself.  
"No, no more." I pleaded, Hancock pressing his tip into me.  
"Hancock she said stop." Nick said sharply, grabbing Hancock's shoulder.  
"Don't worry, that's not our safe word." Hancock smirked, then rammed all of himself in. I screamed in pleasure as another orgasm forced its way out. "Fuck." Hancock moaned as he unloaded in me, unable to pull out from the contraction of my climax. I tried to catch my breath as I felt my body spasming. I've never had a threesome, but it was amazing.  
"Is she okay?" Nick asked, concerned.  
"Yeah...I've-I've never felt better. Thank you Nick" I gasped.  
"We need to do this again Sunshine." Hancock said as her gathered my clothes off the floor.  
"Next time let's bring in a fourth." I breathed.  
"Sunshine, I will do anything to make you look like that." He replied, staring at my face. "Doesn't she look perfect like that Nick?"  
"She always looks perfect, but this is even better." Nick admitted. I fell asleep from the exhaustion of two intense orgasms and the alcohol fully hitting my system. I later found out that Nick had carried me into the Hotel room and got me to bed, Danse furious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Railroad ahead


	21. Traveling the Trail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short, I got caught up in school work this past week.

I woke up with the biggest hangover of my life. My liver is not as young as it used to be. It didn’t help that Danse scolded me as soon as I got up. His voice felt like bullets through the skull. Nick didn’t mention anything about last night. I hope he is okay, I feel bad for making that dare. I only do things like that when I’m drunk. Danse took it upon himself to take point. Truthfully, I didn’t want to bring him to the Railroad because I knew he would report their location to Maxson. I needed an excuse to get him to leave.   
“Hey Danse?” I asked,   
“Yes Knight?” He responded, demoting me from just Olivia.   
“You won’t be able to finish this mission with me.” I said, “The Railroad would never willingly expose itself to a member of the Brotherhood.” Nick raised an eyebrow at me.   
“I can go without the power armor.” Danse countered.   
“You’re still in that orange suit under, and you look too much like a poster soldier.” I pushed.   
“What should I look liked to get in?” He questioned.   
“You would need to look like someone who loves synths, and we both know you couldn’t even fake that.” I continued.   
“She’s got a point there Danse,” Nick interjected, “even when I brought Olivia back safely you still found a way to blame it on me.”   
“I-I see your point.” Danse gave in.   
“I got Nick with me so I’ll be fine. Head back to the Pywdren and let Maxson know I got a lead. I need to head back to Sanctuary for some things before I go back to ship.”   
“Affirmative.” Danse replied. “Just be safe Olivia.” He softened.   
“Always.” I smiled as he departed.   
“Okay what was that really about?” Nick turned to me.   
“Well for one, if the Railroad does exist and wants to free synths then I would never turn in their location to the Brotherhood. With Danse gone I can make up a lie about how and where I found them and no one will be the wiser.” I started.   
“Smart.” Nick approved.   
“Second, I’m tired of him treating you as subhuman.” I continued while grabbing Nicks hand. “You don’t deserve that and I won’t tolerate anyone treating you that way.” Nick smiled at me. “And finally, because we should talk about last night. I want to know how you’re feeling. I’m sorry for starting all of that, I wouldn’t have is I was sober.”   
“No need to apologize doll, I liked it. I don’t think I experienced it like you two did but I enjoyed making you unravel like that. It’s like making a work of art.” Nick placed a small kiss on my forehead. “Now let’s find this Freedom Trail.”   
“Oh we’re on it.” I replied. “I used to walk this Trail in my childhood, just follow these red lines.” I pointed my toes to the line on the broken pavement. “Sad thing is, I don’t recall where it ends.”   
“That’s alright, I’m sure we’ll be there in no time.” Nick replied.   
“Hey Nick?” I asked.   
“What’s on your mind?” He responded.   
“What if they don’t exist?” I stumbled, “I mean do I do then? The Brotherhood at best will have to take the chip all the way to the Capital and back. The Minutemen has no master hacker in its ranks yet.”   
“They’ll be there,” Nick interrupted, “ and if they don’t help then I’ll find you someone else who will.” Nick winked at me.   
“Thanks Nick I-” A gnarled hand grabbed my foot while my attention was on Nick, tripping me over. I put my hands out to stop myself short of having my skull crack on the pavement, but at the price of having the skin on both of my hands scraped off by the road. ‘Fuck’ was all I managed to say on my fall.   
“Hold still I got him!” Nick commanded, sending several rounds through the ghouls head. Lucky for us it’s legs were already missing, making for a quick fight. As Nick held out a hand to steady me as I brushed the dirt off my clothes.   
“That was strange. There normally is never just lone ferals.” I said while looking around us.   
“There are probably more hanging around these buildings and this crippled one couldn’t join them.” Nick responded.   
“Makes sense, good detectiving there Nicky.” I winked, drawing a smile out of him. “Well here we are, the old church. I had some friends get married here.” I continued, feeling some tears pool up behind my eyes. I’ve been living in this world for so long that I sometimes forget all of my old friends and family are lone dead. I didn’t have many friends even though I was in college for nearly a decade, but the ones I did have were extremely dear to me. I missed my parents too. What I wouldn’t give or do just to hug them one more time. What hurts the most was not being able to say goodbye.   
“You okay doll? You lost your color.” Nick interrupted my thoughts.   
“Ah, yeah I’m fine,” I lied, “I just got lost in thought. Let’s get going.” I climbed up the steps and took a deep breath before opening the door to the sound of groaning.


	22. Underground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia meets the railroad. Can she warm Carrington's cold dead heart, or will Glory snatch her away?

Ghouls. Blasted ghouls crawling everywhere and of course they all were alerted from the creaking of the door. I barely had time to draw my gun and dodge the first one running right at me. I shoot it through the head, getting splattered on my face. I felt my stomach flip at the gore. Nick was firing at the legs of two ghouls, getting one successfully crippled. The great thing about fighting ghouls over other enemies in the waste is that they are useless without their legs. The best they can do is try to crawl to you at a snail’s pace. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel at that point. The bad thing about ferals is they always are in groups and the sheer number can overwhelm you, and once you’re in reach you’re a goner. I shoot three rounds into another ghoul’s chest, slowing it but not stopping it. The ghoul had the tattered remains of the clothes of it’s previous life. It was most likely a woman as it wore a pink dress that was held up by a few threads on the left shoulder. Seeing those small pieces of humanity left on these monsters makes it harder to take them out. They were really people with their lives torn from them in some sick, twisted manner. It wasn’t fair. No one deserved that, and no one deserved those damn bombs.  
“They’re coming from above!” Nick called out to me. I watched as three more ferals slid off of the second floor pews, hitting the ground with a thud and staggering to their feet. We both gunned them down before they were able to rush us.  
“You know Nick,” I started, “we make a great team.”  
“Yeah.” Nick smiled.  
“So now that the ferals are handled, how about we go down this ominous hallway?” I pointed at the faintly green hall.  
“Never a dull moment with you huh?” Nick stated.  
“What can I say?” I laughed, “My life is an adventure.”  
“That’s one word for it.” Nick grinned.  
There were more ghouls laying out around the halls, but this time Nick and I could sneak by them. We both prefer to avoid any fighting as we don’t care for violence. The hall stopped at a dial with wiring connected to it.  
“Well this isn’t an obvious puzzle that opens the wall up.” I said.  
“As perceptive as ever Olivia.” Nick replied.  
“Oh yeah? Well can the great clockwork dick solve this one?” I responded.  
“Afraid I only hack terminals and vault doors.” He said.  
“Well it’s probably something stupid like ‘Railroad.’” I stated.  
“Surely the second most mysterious fraction in the Commonwealth wouldn’t use a code so obviou-” Nick stopped as the dial clicked and the wall began to move.  
“You were saying?” I turned to him with a hand on my hip, sarcastic.  
“I have no words.” Nick responded as we head into a dark room. Suddenly the room lit up brightly from several flood lights. A ginger woman stood before us with armed guards.  
“You’ve come a long way to find us, now who the hell are you?” She demanded.  
“Whoa there, I followed the Freedom trail to find you. I’m not here looking for trouble, I need help. My name is Olivia. I have a courser chip that needs decoding, and you may be the only ones who can do it.” I replied. “This here is my friend Nick Valentine, the synth detective.”  
“You have a courser chip?” She responded with her eyebrows furrowed with suspension. “This is no joke.”  
“I don’t fight through raiders, supermutants, and a church full of ghouls for a joke.” I stated.  
“Whoa you’re having a party Desdemona and you didn’t invite me?” A man walked into the room, wearing simple clothing and sunglasses. He looked kind of familiar. “Oh and you invited the courser killer? Awesome.”  
“You mean she’s telling the truth Deacon?” She said surprised.  
“News flash, this woman is kind of a big deal. She didn’t just take down a courser, but she is the general of the Minutemen and took out Kellogg. Hell, she even took down a deathclaw and a mirelurk queen.” Deacon replied.  
“Sounds like she’d give Glory a hell of a run.” She replied.  
“Excuse me,” I interjected, “How do you know so much about me?”  
“It’s my job, I gather the information for the Railroad. Plus, you don’t exactly hide anything from the public.” He laughed. “We need her boss.”  
“That goes against all our protocol Deacon.” Desdemona snapped.  
“You really think she’s an Institute spy?” He sighed.  
“Excuse me again.” I said. “The Institute killed my husband and kidnapped my infant son in front of me while I was cryogenically frozen in Vault 111. I’m over 200 years old and have spent the past year getting to where I am now. Not only have I almost died about a dozen times and have been absolutely traumatized trying to adjust to this world, but trekked through the Glowing sea to find an institute defector that made me a blueprint to build a teleporter to infiltrate the institute. Now getting that courser code it the only thing I need to finish it and get my son back. Now if you’re done talking about me like I’m not here, I need to know if you can break this code or not. I don’t have time to waste.” Everyone looked at me in shock, even Nick who has never heard me be so assertive.  
“I’m-I’m sorry,” Desdemona started, “I had no idea, but that still doesn’t negate breaking our safety protocol.”  
“I understand how complex the situation is as the leader of a large group myself. The weight each decision carries to ensure safety to your men and progress of your cause.” I started, “I’m sure you’re currently running a cost-benefit analysis of the situation. As such, you should be concluding that what I hold is going to be beneficial to the entirety of your operation and if I really wanted to be your enemy then I could have just alerted the Brotherhood of your location and never risked coming here myself.”  
“She’s right there boss.” Deacon agreed.  
“Alright. Don’t make me regret this. Follow me.” Desdemona conceded.  
She led me to a room full of bustling people. I could she a doctor staring us down with a scowl.  
“Tom, I got a courser chip for you.” She called to a man with a funny looking apparatus on his head.  
“Whoa? For real? Oh man, it's been ages.” The man responded. “Give me a few hours and I’ll have this little baby open.” He announced and began typing away at his computer.  
“Everyone.” Desdemona called to get the attention of everyone. “This is Olivia and her friend Nick. She took down a courser and brought us it's chip. She is to be a friend among us until we get it cracked.” A few people clapped at the announcement of the chip. She turned to me, “while you’re here, you should speak to some of our members. We could us someone like you on our side.”  
“I’d consider it.” I replied.  
“Good. We can talk about this more later, I have some things to be done right now. Help yourself to a bedroll if you need some rest.” She responded.  
“Thank you.” I said.  
I decided to follow what she said and converse with some of the people here. There were several informants and runners in the room. Dr. Carrington was by far the most abrasive.  
“So you’re the woman Desdemona let in without knowing hardly anything about you. It would've been nice if she had consulted with her second-in-command, but what's done is done.” He sighed.  
“So she has. Hi there, I’m Olivia.” I said as I reached my hand out to shake his.  
“Hm. Well at least you have some manners. I’m doctor Carrington. So, why are you here?” He asked.  
“I need the courser chip decoded so I can infiltrate the Institute and save my son that was kidnapped.” I stated.  
“Oh...I’m sorry to hear that. Also for being so abrasive, we’ve had many setbacks that have me working around the clock.” He said, softer.  
“That’s okay, I understand. You remind me of the MD’s I shadowed during my rotations.” I laughed.  
“I don’t understand, you’ve had professional medical training?” He questioned.  
“My apologies, I forget that people don’t know me.” I started, “I lived before the war and was a practicing physician. Vault tech made the vault, 111, that I was in a cryogenics testing lab. I was the only survivor aside from my son. My husband was murdered by the Institute and the rest of the vault members’ pods failed and they suffocated.”  
“That’s unimaginable.” He replied.  
“It’s a hell, but I find hope in some of the people I’ve met. Nick here saved my life after a gunshot to the gut.” I pointed to Nick.  
“She’s loved synths’ ever since.” Nick winked at me, drawing a blush.  
“If you have some physician's work I can take off your plate while I’m here, I’d be more than happy to help.” I smiled.  
“Thank you, but I don’t have any of those matters at hand. If you need any care while you’re here, I can help you.” Carrington replied.  
“Thank you Dr. Carrington.” I said.  
“You can just call me Carrington.” He interrupted.  
“Carrington,” I responded, “I did get my ankle scratched up pretty bad by a ghoul. I ran out of bandages in the field, so if you think you could help, I would be very grateful.”  
“Of course, let me see that wound.” He replied. I removed my boots and pulled up the leg of my vault suit. The wound itself wasn’t too bad. A little deeper than a flesh wound, but not deep enough to need stitches. Carrington brought a pail of water and a rag, gently taking my leg in his hands to wash away the dried blood. It was an intimate feeling, having someone wash and treat you. “I see quite a bit of bruising here,” Carrington started, “do you have a blood disease?”  
“Actually I do have anemia, but it’s anything dramatic. Just annoying.” I answered.  
“Anemia, especially in this time, is very serious Olivia. You need to be very careful of the slightest injuries that go past your skin.” He scolded, “You must always have bandages on you, this could kill you out there.”  
“Sure thing Doc.” I winked at him. He looked caught off guard at my teasing. I wonder if anyone bothered trying to be friendly with him since he comes off as a dick. One thing you learn going through medical school is that the more seasoned the physician, the more abrasive they are. They almost never mean to be, but years of over working and burnout can make anyone a grump.  
“Wow I’ve never seen anyone make Dr. Carrington blush.” Deacon popped around a corner, sending me and Carrington jumping.  
“Deacon, stop startling people.” Carrington commanded.  
“Well you're not denying it.” Deacon laughed.  
“Oh don’t give him a hard time Deacon,” I started, “He’s clearly overworked and overdue for a vacation.”  
“Vacation?” Deacon mocked, “You really are Pre-War huh?”  
“Yeah, why would I lie about that?” I questioned.  
“One too many shots to the head can make anyone start talking crazy like that.” He replied.  
“Deacon stop harassing my patient and go do your job, if you even take that seriously anymore.” Carrington demanded.  
“Ooh, he really does like you. I can tell you know.” Deacon whispered to me before walking away.  
“He’s...different.” I said to Carrington.  
“That’s an understatement, but he is useful.” He replied.  
“I bet that hair is great for dusting up around here huh?” I responded, getting a laugh out of Carrington.  
“I’ve never heard you laugh Doc.” A woman with silver hair came beside me.  
“You’ve never given me a reason Glory.” He replied as he finished wrapping up my ankle. “You’re all done now, try to avoid running on it.” He said to me with a slight upturn in the corner of his mouth.  
“Thank you Carrington, how much do I owe you?” I asked.  
“Nothing, just try not to hurt yourself again.” He answered.  
“I make no promises.” I smiled.  
“And you’re not charging her? What has happened to you?” Glory said to Carrington.  
“Nothing.” He huffed before turning to his paperwork.  
“You are quite the charmer there Olivia.” She said as she clapped my back with a hand. “I’m Glory, the poster child of an escaped synth. “  
“Nice to meet you.” I said.  
“Now that introductions are out of the way, why don’t you tell me about that courser fight. It must have been awesome.” She mused.  
“I didn’t do it alone, I had a friend help me. The bastard left me a parting gift.” I pointed to the healing gash on my face. I caught Carrington glancing back at me as I said it.  
“That’s badass.” Glory said.  
“You think so?” I asked.  
“Yeah. Makes you look dangerous and hot.” She said so nonchalantly. I coughed at the comment.  
“Well, thank you.” I laughed.  
“It does add some character.” Nick agreed.  
“I don’t think I need anymore character in my life.” I replied.  
“Where’s the fun in that?” Deacon chimed back. “Here I was about to ask to join your travelling party.”  
“If you want, you’re welcome to come along.” I responded.  
“Not so fast.” Desdemona’s voice shot through the room. “I was just informed that your ‘friend’ was a Paladin in the Brotherhood, and you hold rank. Explain yourself.” She held a bulky rifle at me.  
“Now watch who you’re pointing that thing at.” Nick said as he moved himself between me and the barrel, putting his hand on his holster.  
“Woah there settle down, I can explain.” I said, putting a hand on Nick to have him move from in front of me. “You’re not about to take a bullet for me here Nick.”  
“You have three minutes before I shoot.” Desdemona threatened.  
“It’s true that Paladin Danse helped me kill the courser and I am a Knight in the Brotherhood, but I do not share their values and have only joined them to have access to their resources. I needed a suit of power armor to get into the Glowing sea, vertibird access to travel, and the engineers to build this teleporter.” I started.  
“So you think we’ll just hand over the code to our enemies and let you walk out to them with our location?” She replied.  
“What reassurance can I give you that I am not loyal to them?” I asked.  
“I’m not sure you can give any. What have you done to prove you don’t share their values?” She replied.  
“Well...uh.” I began to redden, “I fucked a ghoul and a synth at the same time last week.” I shrugged, sending Nick into a coughing fit.  
“Wholy shit that’s going in my notes.” Deacon laughed.  
“I like this one already.” Glory wrapped an arm around my neck.  
“Ahem,” Desdemona cleared her throat, “that doesn’t really qualify, uh, well…” She trailed off.  
“Short of blowing up the Pwydrn I don’t know what I could do to be any more opposite of them.” I said.  
“She has a point there boss,” Deacon agreed, “even I haven’t done anything that opposite.”  
“I can offer a test run.” Glory winked at me.  
“I do enjoy tests.” I smirked.  
“Okay that’s enough.” Carrington interrupted. “Olvia clearly isn’t a threat to us. Now everyone go back to your work.”  
“Carrington you can’t just decide that unilaterally.” Desdemona stated.  
“You did when you let her in.” Carrington countered, shutting her up.  
“Thank you for the vote of faith.” I said to Carrington, touching his shoulder. He didn’t reply.  
“Don’t make us regret this.” Desdemona said as she turned and walked back to Tom.  
“I need to hear about this freaky threeway.” Glory said, Deacon nodding his head in response.  
“No, you don’t.” Nick said, pulling me away from the two. “Why would you go and say that?” Nick asked me in a whisper.  
“I had a rifle in my face and a lot to try to explain.” I said. “Would you rather I got us both killed?”  
“No, you’re right. Sorry doll, I just don’t like having our personal life shared.” He apologized.  
“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have to Nick.” I assured him with a hand on his arm.  
“Hey Olivia!” Glory called. “Tom said this decoding is going to take until the morning, why don’t we have a drink?”  
“Sure.” I said, Nick giving me a worried expression before lighting up a cigarette and getting cornered by a questioning Deacon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what's coming up next, or rather who. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	23. Morning Glory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ( ಠ ͜ʖಠ) lesbians

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter upload was previously incorrect, here is the real chapter 23. Warning: explicit

“So you really rushed a Mirelurk Queen?” Glory asked, amazed.   
“Mhm. It was me or my men so I couldn’t let them die on my watch.” I answered.   
“That’s so badass. I hope you join us so we can do a mission together.” She winked, beer in hand.   
“So do you normally flirt with every woman that comes here or am I just lucky?” I laughed.   
“Just you so far. I hope you’ll stay for more than a mission though.” She reached her hand on mine.   
“One more drink and I just might.” I smiled at her coyly.   
“Hell yeah.” She replied, pulling another beer from beside her. “So...have you ever…?”   
“Yes. Many times.” I grinned remembering how many beautiful women that I attended undergrad with.   
“Good.” She responded. “Your synth lover over there won’t mind?”   
“Nah, although I don’t really plan on talking to him about it. I like to keep some things private.” I answered.   
“Great.” She exhaled.   
“So where will we have some privacy?” I asked Glory.   
“Oh we’ll just sneak out to the second floor of the church. No one patrols there because of the ghouls that you already conveniently cleared out.” She replied.   
“Well, what are we waiting for then?” I stood, reaching my hand out to her. We did our best to walk out without drawing attention to us, but I caught Nick raising an eyebrow at us.   
…

“Do you have a preference for positioning?” Glory asked me, red in the cheeks from the three beers she threw back.   
“Bottom and hard.” I answered.   
“Perfect.” She replied, walking herself on top of me on all fours. She stood about six inches taller than me. Her hands stroked up my sides and she took my mouth in hers. We tangled out tongues together. I ran my hands down her back as she lead me flat on the ground. She definitely knew how to take charge, no wonder she used a minigun.   
“Can I take off your clothes?” She asked.   
“Please do.” I breathed, already feeling wet.   
She put her lips to mine again, slightly more aggressive. Her right hand massaging my breast as her left kept her propped up. Glory began unzipping my suit, exposing both of my breasts to her. My nipples erect from the cool air.   
“You’re perfect.” Glory said as she began trail kissed down my neck to my breast, wrapping her lips around one of my areoles and pinching at the other. I gasped as her tongue flicked over me, sending my hands in her hair. I moaned as she switched her hands and mouth.   
“Harder.” I said. She responded by lightly biting my nipple and squeezing my breast. I pushed her head into my chest more, arching my back at the pleasure. She shifted her hand to my lower back, pressing me into her body. I dragged my hands to her ass, drawing a muffled moan from her. A few minutes of this past before she finished unzipping my suit and pulling it off of me. I felt a little embarrassed as I haven’t gotten to bath in several days. To my surprise, Glory put her head between my legs and lapped at my sex.   
“Holy shit.” I gasped as her tongue entered me with expert grace. She grabbed at my hips to steady my involuntary movements. I began to massage my breasts as she pressed her tongue in every crevice of myself. She slid a finger into me, curling it upward to press on that magic spot. My hips thrust up into her face, causing a giggle from Glory.   
“Someone is easy to please, and sweet also.” She grinned at me before returning to her ungodly delectable work.   
“More fingers please Glory.” I begged, wanting to be filled. She honored my request and put in two more fingers, covering the area of my pubic bone. I could feel myself gushing at the pleasure, my heart pounding and my muscles clenching down on her. Glory knew just how close I was and put the thumb from her other hand onto my clit, violently rubbing it. She couldn’t have known this, but I was more sensitive than most women in that spot. I yelled out her name as a vicious orgasm rippled through my body.   
“Cumming already?” She laughed. “Hope you can handle some more, because I get off to pleasuring others.”   
“I can handle anything you throw at me.” I smiled. “Might pass out, but it’s all good.”   
“I don’t think I could hide what we’re doing if I have to carry you into HQ.” She replied.   
“At that point, who cares?” I winked.   
“You’re going to regret saying that now, because I’m not holding back.” She responded and shoved four fingers into my swollen sex. I moaned loud enough to hear the echo off the walls. “I know you like being with men, so I want to give you what you like from them.”   
“Oh God it’s better than what they can do.” I breathed. “There is a better position though.”   
“What’s that?” She asked as I rolled onto all fours and exposed my ass to her.   
“Doggy. Feel free to put a few in my ass too.” I turned my head at my shoulder to catch a glimpse of the devilish grin spread across her face. She put her a few fingers in me to lubricate herself before slowly penetrating my other whole. I tossed my head back and whimpered at the dirty pleasure. Glory returned her other hand to my sex and kept the pace fast, this time curling her fingers with every thrust inward. I felt full. She was by far the best female lay I’ve had.   
“I’m getting close.” I wailed as my breasts swayed forward and back at her thrusting.   
“Let it out, I got one more thing for you.” She said. My body tensed again, this time trapping her fingers inside of me as the orgasm took control. I shook then collapsed onto the ground.   
“Now, now. I need you to prop that tight ass back up for me.” Glory commanded, taking her pants off.   
“What’s the surprise?” I asked, getting my answer from a double sided strap on she pulled from her bag. “Where on earth did you find one of those here?”   
“Found it while rummaging through an old store.” She answered, “Now prop up.” I did as she asked, turning my head enough to watch her push on end of the dildo up herself. She leaned her head back and let air escape her throat. “Alright, now it’s my turn.”   
Glory pushed the strap-on into me at a painfully slow rate, getting me to ram myself back to push the full length into me. She laughed and leaned her body over mine, thrusting slowly. She pulled the band in my hair off, sending my curls flying.   
“Much better,” She said as she grabbed a fistful of my hair and tugged my head back.  
“Fuck.” I called out, grinding against her thrusts.   
“Keep it up sweetie.” She encouraged. “I won’t be much longer myself.” Glory picked up her pace, the dildo hitting my cervix and sending me to cloud nine. We both moaned in chorus, our breathing raspy. “Say my name.” She said. I did as she said, earning several bucks from her before joining her in climax. Glory rested her head on my back for a moment before withdrawing from me. I stood up on shaky legs and saw the puddle I left on the ground.   
“This was quite the welcome Glory, thank you.” I said, extending my hand to help her up.   
“Doesn’t have to end here.” She replied while pulling her pants back on.   
“True.” I said, zipping my vault suit back on.   
“Why don’t we head back before our friends miss us?” She suggested, pulling me into one last kiss before we walked back to HQ.


	24. The Combat Zone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting a fiery red head in the worst possible way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major Trigger Warnings: Explicit rape, kidnapping, trauma, suicidal thoughts  
A chapter summary will be posted at the end notes for those who don't want to read through this chapter. I debated doing a scene like this, but I feel like occurrences of rape aren't uncommon in Fallout and I wouldn't be capturing the full scope of the hellish waste without it.

I got some amazing sleep after that tussle with Glory, who was eyeing me all morning. So was Nick, who was uncharacteristically quiet. Tom had crack the code while I was sleeping and Desdemona wrote it down for me. I thanked her before heading out, considering the offer to join them. I do like their goals and values way more than the Brotherhood’s, but I don’t know if I want to dedicate more time to other factions. I yawned as we headed out of the church.  
“Long night?” Nick asked sharply.  
“What?” I responded.  
“You’re yawning, I figured it was from that night of sex you had.” He said shortly.  
“Is there a problem Nick? Also, did you watch us?” I cut.  
“Why would there be? It’s not like you just had a round with me and Hancock. I figured you would be satisfied with us.” He replied.  
“Nick.” I stopped in front of him. “What’s the deal? You know what went on between us wasn’t anything serious. You were okay with the no strings attached sex before, why would you care who I sleep with?”  
“Because I have mixed feelings!” He snapped.  
“Don’t blame me for that Nick. I never did anything you didn’t consent to and I’ve always been clear about what I want out of relationships right now.” I countered.  
“You’re right.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t take my feelings out on you.”  
“You’re forgiven.” I stated and began walking again. “Oh for fuck’s sake. We have company.” A large gang of raiders appeared before us, more than we could handle alone.  
“We are outgunned.” Nick stated, drawing his pistol.  
“No Nick,” I started, “We need to run away. No point in us getting slaughtered.” A bullet whizzed past us and the raiders began to yell. Nick and I ran for cover in a ruined house.  
“Come out, come out Olivia.” A man called.  
“What the hell?” I asked Nick.  
“You got quite a price on your head. Did you think you could take out part of our gang without us noticing?” The man continued.  
“We gotta get you out of here, fast.” Nick said to me.  
“Here Nick.” I handed him the slip of paper with the code. “They only want me, not you. Sneak out of here and run to the airport. Tell the guards you’re Nick and I’m in trouble, that Paladin Danse is my commanding officer and to speak with you. If they give you a hard time, tell them you have the last piece Elder Maxson needs.”  
“Are you mad?” Nick replied. “I can’t leave you here to those monsters.”  
“The Combat Zone is going to love you hotshot.” The man yelled again.  
“See? They are trying to take me alive. It’ll only take you a day and a half to reach the airport. I can manage until you can get Danse to bring a vertibird here. From what I’ve been told, this is the location of the zone.” I said while pointing to the map on my pipboy.  
“Olivia,” Nick grabbed my hand, “I can’t do this.”  
“They’ll kill you on sight Nick. I’ll be okay. Now go before I have to make you.” I commanded.  
“But-”  
“No but’s Nick. GO!” I shouted while jumping out of the doorway with my hands up.  
“There’s the little lady.” The man said. He had cage armor and wielded a shotgun. “Come over here with your hands up nice and slow. He licked his lips as I walked up to him. There were about a dozen raiders with their weapons aimed on me.  
“What do you want from me?” I asked as a woman tied my hands around my back and took my bag and gun.  
“You don’t get to ask questions.” The man shot and shoved a cloth in my mouth. “The boss is going to love this one,” he said while slapping my ass.  
…

The combat zone was just a repurposed theater with a big cage on the stage where they made people fight. I was forced into a different cage with two other women who were bound like me. Their boss was a hug man in combat armor with a giant spiked bat. He approached me and lifted my face to him.  
“Oh this one I’ll enjoy breaking in.” He sneered, pulling my hair from the bun it was in. “Bring her to me in the morning, don’t feed her.”  
“Yes sir. May we have some fun with her?” The smaller raider asked. I gagged at the thought.  
“NO.” The man’s voice bellowed. “This fruit is mine. Let’s see that voice of hers.” He took the gag out of my mouth. “What say you fruit, are you excited to get fucked by a real man?”  
“If there was one around. All I see is a stupid cunt in my face.” I spat on his face.  
“Oh feisty. That’s good, wild animals are more fun to break.” He replied while wiping his face. “I’m going to tear you apart bitch.” He said before leaving the room. I felt my stomach turn and threw up beside me, the raiders nearby laughing.  
…  
It seemed like I was captive for an eternity before a raider collected me. She pushed me into a room and closed the wooden doors. I could hear the door lock behind me. The man was laying on a soiled bed, dressed only in a shirt and boxers. I could see his erection already. I felt myself turn cold as though all the blood left my body. If I didn’t have an empty stomach I would throw up. A felt the panic set in and my vision started to blur.  
“What are you waiting on fruit? Get the fuck over here.” He demanded. I walked on unsteady legs. I knew what was about to happen, but I had no choice but to do as he said. I saw the bat on the table and I have no doubt he would use it on me. He grabbed my shoulders once I was within reach and pushed me onto my knees. “Let’s see what that pretty little mouth can do huh?” The words spilled out of his mouth onto me like acid. He forced my mouth open with his dirty fingers and freed himself from his underwear. He held it in front of my face, “You better not bite me or I’ll let little Cait beat you to death.” With that he shoved himself into my mouth, straight to my throat. I couldn’t breath as he violently thrust back and forth. I felt like I was going to die. He put a hand behind my head, grabbing my curls by the roots, and pushed my head into him. This is why he didn’t let me get food. I closed my eyes and tried to think of anything else, I needed to escape this. I thought of Nate, Nick, Danse, Glory, Yefim. None of it helped. I was being used like a piece of meat. I wanted to die and if I had the chance to end it now, I would. He tasted of sweat and dirt, probably carrying some disease I’ll need to be treated for immediately.  
“Ah fuck you’re so wet. Bet you’re enjoying this and your pussy is begging for me.” He moaned. My body was betraying me because he was right about one thing, I was getting wet. I know from a scientific perspective that it was a defense mechanism to protect me from getting damaged, but my emotions overrode the logic. I knew he would leave my mouth soon and rip off my suit, but I couldn’t let that happen. Having my mouth raped like this was bad enough, but I know I could never wash away the filth from my sex. Knowing that Nick should be at the airport about now, I took my chances. I bit down as hard as I could, drawing blood from his shaft. He screamed and landed a punch to my left eye, sending my flying to the ground. My head slammed against his bed frame. I knew I was concussed and had a broken eye socket. The pain was so intense that I was numb, the adrenaline flooding my system.  
“You stupid bitch!” He shouted and kicked me in the stomach. I threw up blood from the impact. He picked me up off the ground and kicked open the door of his room, the front of his boxers stained red and blood trailing down his thighs. “Someone get Cait!” He commanded and took me to the stage. A ginger woman was rushed to the cage that the man threw me in. “Kill her, and make it painfully slow.” He demanded.  
“What? This little tart?” She eyed me.  
“Do as I said bitch.” He barked at her before shoving her into the cage and locking the door.  
“Please, you don’t have to do this.” I begged, trying to stand on my legs. I felt broken ribs burning as tried to breath.  
“I have to love, they own me.” She said, her eyes looking sad.  
“Please, Cait is it? The man just raped me for God’s sake.” I pleaded.  
“Aye, he does that to all the women they take.” She replied, walking toward me. “Get a grip of yourself so you can put up a fight.” Cait cracked her fists.  
“Oh for fuck’s…” I trailed off, running toward the far end of the cage. The pain of each breath and step felt worse than any contraction I had giving birth to Shaun.  
“Where the fuck are you going idiot?” She asked.  
“Away from you.” I answered, grabbing at the cage bars. My time rock climbing has finally served me well as I scurried up the cage. It was like the jungle gyms in elementary school.  
“What’s the point of that, you’re just dragging this out.” Cait stated while the audience booed. I was trying to give myself more time for Danse to get here. I needed a rescue fast. Cait jumped toward me trying to pry me off the top bars. “Come on.” She yelled at me. I felt my arms giving out and fell to the ground. I heard a snap and intense pain from my injured ankle, broken. I screamed. “You’re making my job easier if you break yourself.” She sighed. Cait picked me up by my collar, “I am really sorry about this. If I was a free woman, I’d want to fuck you.” Her eyes glassed over, “But it’s you or me, and it’s not about to be me.”  
“My name is Olivia.” I stated.  
“Excuse me?” She asked.  
“We are both victims here Cait. Try not to feel too bad about this when it’s over, but I want you to never forget my name.” I continued.  
“I-” She started.  
“Don’t,” I interrupted, “Save yourself.” I closed my eyes, preparing for the punch. The world was moving in slow motion. I could hear the cheering of the audience and the creak of her leather corset as she wound her hand back. Before she landed her fist, there was a loud boom and the roof crashed. Several raiders were crushed, the rest scrambling for their guns. Cait dropped me and banged on the cage door. “Ay! Let me out!” She yelled. I could see several Brotherhood soldiers jump out of the vertibird, lighting everyone in the building up. It wasn’t a battle, it was a bloodbath. I watched as Danse sent the man who raped me into a ball of ash from his laser rifle.  
“DANSE!” I screamed with all the might I could muster with my injuries.  
“Olivia?” He answered. “I’m coming!” He ran toward the cage door and ripped it from its frame. Cait ran back as he held a gun to her. “Don’t move.” He commanded.  
“Aye.” She quickly replied.  
“Olivia? What did they do to you?” Danse’s voice cracked at seeing my condition.  
“So much Danse.” I answered as tears rolled down my eyes. “Please, take me home.”  
“Of course.” He said, carefully scooping me off the ground. I screamed in pain. Even though he was being as gentle as possible, I felt every broken bone at once.  
“Wait,” I breathed hard, “Take her with us.” I said, looking toward Cait. “She’s a slave here, I can give her a spot in Sanctuary.”  
“This woman? Wasn’t she someone who hurt you?” He asked.  
“Please Danse.” I pleaded.  
“Okay. I will allow it, but she’ll have to be held in our brigs until we can interrogate her.” He replied.  
“That’s fine.” I responded, “Cait, come with us. We can get you out of this hell.”  
“Why would you try to help me?” She asked, angry.  
“Because slavery is wrong and everyone deserves a second chance. Now get on the damn aircraft.” I snapped. She followed my orders without another word. Danse held me for the whole flight to the Pwydren, not leaving my side in the medical room.  
“Can you tell me every injury you’ve had knight?” Knight-captain Cade asked.  
“I know that my eye socket and ankle is broken, possibility several ribs too. I most likely have internal bleeding from a kick to the stomach. My head was slammed into a bed and I heard a crack. Also…” My voice cracked and I began to hyperventilate.  
“Olivia, what did they do?” Nick asked, stroking my head trying to comfort me.  
“A man...he-he.” I couldn’t get the words to form.  
“Olivia, we need to know.” Danse stated, grabbing my hand and shooting a look to Nick’s display of affection.  
“He forced himself on me.” I managed to have the words spill out of my mouth, “I need you to test me for anything he may have given me Cade.” Nick and Danse both had their eyes widen beyond what should be humanly possible.  
“Of course Olivia,” Cade replied, grabbing a large cotton swab and a test tube full of a yellow liquid. “Where did he…?”  
“Mouth.” I replied shortly.  
“Alright.” He swabbed my throat quickly and handed it to a scribe assisting him.  
“Olivia, I’m so sorry I couldn’t get to them sooner.” Nick said to me, voice cracking as much as mine. I squeezed his hand.  
“It’s okay Nick, don’t blame yourself.” I looked to him, still trying to catch my breath.  
“I need you to leave the room so I can treat her.” Cade spoke.  
“No.” I responded. “I need them here, please.” I pleaded.  
“Fine. Stand in the corner and out of the way.” He replied. Nick watched, horror visible on his face. Danse looked as though he was going to throw up, the color gone from his face. The doctor cut off my suit, but left my underwear on. I glanced down at myself and could see all the bruising. I was more purple than brown. My ankle was bent at an unnatural angle. Cade moved quickly injecting stimpaks into my ankle, stomach, sides, and face. “I’m going to give you some med-x and buffout for the pain, the stimpaks were concentrated so they should mend up those bones good as new.”  
“Thank you Cade.” I said, feeling myself losing consciousness. I held my hand out slightly toward Nick, who ran up and grabbed it quickly.  
“I won’t leave your side.” He assured me. I looked to the door of the room and saw Maxson walking in, staring down Nick. They all blurred from my view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nick and Olivia are faced with a gang of raiders after leaving the Railroad. They want Olivia for killing part of their gang previously. Faced with either kidnapping or Nick's death, Olivia sent Nick off with the courser code. She hopes Nick can make it to the Brotherhood in time for her to be rescued before she would presumably be killed. Once kidnapped, the raiders make her go a day without food or water before their unnamed leader forces her. She fights back and is thrown into the pit with Cait, who is given orders to kill her slowly. Between the assaults of her rapist and Cait's fists, she is saved just before the final blow by the Brotherhood. The chapter ends with her secure in the Prydwen with Nick and Danse, and Cait escaping the Combat Zone.


	25. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions run high with Nick staying at Olivia's side aboard the Brotherhood's airship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triggers: suicidal ideation and references to rape

“I don’t know why you let that thing in here.” I could hear Maxson say.  
“Olivia requested he stay while she’s being treated.” Danse defended.  
“That thing is an abomination.” Maxson yelled. I opened my eyes slowly and saw Nick staring at me.  
“Hey there doll.” Nick whispered to me, rubbing his thumb across the back of my hand. I smiled at him. My mouth was too dry and sore to try and talk. “If you two are done arguing, our friend here is awake.” Nick interjected the men’s yelling.  
“Olivia.” Danse darted to my bedside. “How are you feeling?” I frowned and shook my head no in response.  
“Can you not speak knight?” Maxson asked.  
“Her throat is probably damaged.” Nick said for me, as perceptive as ever.  
“I didn’t ask you, machine.” Maxson spat. “Knight?” I shook my head yes while pointing at Nick. “Okay. I expect a full report of the incident tomorrow, you can write it.” He said before storming out.  
“Well he’s all sunshine and rainbows.” Nick said to me, making me smile wide and choke down a cough.  
“Elder Maxson is serious because he has the biggest job to do.” Danse cut at Nick. “You should be grateful that he trusts Olivia enough to let you stay.”  
“Oh sure, so gracious of him.” Nick rolled his eyes. “Say Olivia, you’re not looking too good.”  
“She just survived an assault.” Danse snapped.  
“No, I mean the look in her eyes. She looks...broken.” He replied while caressing my face, drawing a disgusted glare from Danse. I could feel the tears as they began to roll down my face again. “Hey there doll, it’s okay. We’re here for you.”  
“I won’t leave behind any of soldiers under my command.” Danse said, handing me a napkin. I shook my head up and down slightly at their remarks, but what Nick said was true. I was broken, damaged goods. I felt like my soul was ripped out of me and now I was just some husk to be used and discarded. I felt my soul crush when Nate was murdered, but this was different. Losing Nate took a piece of me, this took everything. I would never be the same Olivia again. If I had a knife, I’d probably use it. I felt a filth that could never be scrubbed away.  
“Oh she’s awake.” Cade said as he walked in the room. “How are we feeling?”  
“She can’t speak right now Knight-Captain.” Danse answered.  
“Not surprising, that man did a number on her. I’m surprised it wasn’t worse.” He replied. I winced at the memory, squeezing Nick’s hand.  
“Maybe it would be best if we don’t mention that until Olivia is ready to talk about it.” Nick suggested.  
“Hm, I suppose so. Now, I got the test back from the swab and you are clean. There are no traces of any diseases and don’t have to worry about spreading anything.” Cade said.  
“That’s great.” Nick said, running his fingers through my hair the best he could given the knots.  
“Ah...yes. We’ll be giving you another round of stimpaks and buffout later today. You’re healing better than expected. You should be ready for full duty in a few weeks.” Cade looked uncomfortably at Nick and made his way out the door.  
“Hey Danse,” Nick started, “Can you hand me Olivia’s bag and get a pail of water? I want to help Olivia wash her hair before she gets so knotted we’ll have to cut it off.”  
Danse said nothing, but fetched the items.  
“Try to lean up a little for me doll. I’ll take care of this for you, I know your hair is important to you.” He smiled at me. I shook my head yes and leaned into his hand.  
“Here is everything.” Danse said. “Do you...need help?”  
“No, I’ve done this before a couple times. I think the best you could do is just be here for her.” Nick replied, pouring some soap into the water. I shook my head in agreeance.  
Danse looked mesmerized at the washing process. People like him didn’t have to think about how to care for their hair. They could just throw any soap on their head and wash as much as they want. My curls and kinks required gentle soaps, deep conditioning, and distance between washes so it won’t dry and break. Nick steadied me with one hand while putting my hair in the bucket with the other. He gently lead my head to the end of the pail. “Do you think you can hold yourself like this?” Before I could respond Danse jumped up and offered, sliding a hand under my upper back. Nick smirked a bit at Danse, then put his attention back to my hair. He gently swirled my hair in the water, running his fingers slowly to remove the larger pieces of dirt and grime. He then rinsed my hair with a bottle of clean water, wrapping my hair in the t-shirt I keep in my bag.  
“Keep her up for me.” Nick said to Danse, who nodded in response. Nick grabbed the last of the Tarberry conditioner I had in my bag, and began to work it through my hair. He slowly untangled all the knots. I loved the way he took care of me, just like he did while I recovered from my gunshot. The first time he did it he needed a lot of instructions to wrap his head around it, but he’s a pro now.  
“What is that berry scented goop?” Danse asked.  
“It’s the hair conditioner she makes. She uses mutfruit for the moisture, tarberry for the scent, and carrots for nutrients.” He answered, looking into my eyes the whole time.  
“Tarberries? Curious.” He said.  
“She told me once that her husband loved berries and that tarberries were the closest smell to soaps she used before the war. Gives her a little piece of home.” Nick recited, knowing almost everything about what and why I do.  
“That’s...understandable. It is a pleasant scent.” Danse smiled at me. I felt myself blush between Nick and Danse’s sights.  
“We’re all done now.” Nick said, “Hope it’ll make you feel better, given the circumstances.” I smiled in response and closed my eyes. The pain I was in was taking all my energy, and I drifted off to sleep.  
…

“Where is that report Paladin Danse?” Maxson asked, waking me from my rest.  
“Knight Olivia hasn’t been able to write it yet Elder Maxson.” Danse answered.  
“That’s unacceptable, her hands are not broken so she can write.” Maxson held out a paper and pen attached to a clipboard. “Here, do it while I’m here.” Danse and Nick looked in silence at the abrasiveness of Maxson. I grasped the board, almost dropping it as my strength wasn’t back yet. I wrote my report slowly in a bulleted list of the order of events. It was painful to write so much at once, and I winced while doing it.  
“The doctor left some buffout here if you need it.” Nick offered.  
“Do not interrupt a soldier following orders.” Maxson demanded. Nick looked like he wanted to shoot him in the face. Danse even looked upset, but of course wouldn’t question orders. I finished the writing and held it up to Maxson, who took it and walked out without a word.  
“Buffout?” Nick asked, holding out a pill. I opened my mouth and took it, hoping it would help me sleep some more and not have to feel this pain. I would need that addictol in my bag by the time this was over.  
“I’m going to the mess hall, can I bring you anything Olivia?” Danse asked. I nodded.  
“She likes carrot and mutfruit soups.” Nick offered.  
“I can get that.” Danse said, heading out the door.  
“I need you to stop scaring me so much Olivia.” Nick said, laying his head on my chest. I reached my hands up enough to take off his fedora and rub his head bald head. He turned his head toward me with an expression as close to crying as he’s ever looked. “I wished I was there to protect you. You went through so much...just to save me. You should have ran instead, a quick death for me would’ve been better than what you went through.” He turned his face into my breasts again, “I love you Olivia. Please don’t do something like that again.”  
“I love you too Nick.” I managed to say in an almost nonexistent voice. Nick shot up at my voice and embraced me.  
He buried his face into my neck, “I missed your voice.” He said muffled from my hair. “I know that what we have isn’t going to last forever and you’ll eventually find someone to settle down with, but until then I need to be near you.” I offered Nick a warm smile and kissed his cheek. Danse walked in right as I did so, nearly dropping the food he brought.  
“What the hell?” Danse said.  
“I take it you haven’t had the pleasure to receive some of Olivia’s physical displays of affection?” Nick smirked as he put his hat back on.  
“That’s-that’s none of your business.” Danse stammered, his face turning bright red.  
“Oh you have? So it’s jealousy.” Nick laughed.  
“Here’s the soup.” Danse pushed the bowl in Nick’s chest and sat in a chair on the other side of the room. He was clearly upset.  
“Please don’t be mad Danse.” I managed to say after taking a sip of the soup.  
“Olivia, you can talk?” Danse perked up. “I’m not mad at you.” I smiled at him in response.  
“Talking hurts her still.” Nick said.  
“Affirmative.” Danse stated, turning his attention to the salisbury steak in his lap.  
….

“Good to see you up and walking.” Cade said. It has been a long week of medicinal therapy, but my bones were mended so I could get out of bed. The soft tissues were still very sore and my left eye still had some more healing to do before my vision was back in order.  
“It’s even better to be able to talk again.” I replied, readjusting myself on my crutches.  
“You shouldn’t need those for more than a few days.” Cade continued, “I want you to stand as much as you can to speed up your progress.”  
“Sure thing Cade, thank you so much.” I reached my arms out to embrace him. Cade was one of the few members of the Brotherhood that I was on a first name basis with. Typically other physicians I meet are comfortable being familiar with me.  
“Anytime Olivia, just try to take care of yourself more.” He replied while wrapping his arms around my back. Nick watched from the doorway curiously. I headed toward him, my crutches drawing attention from everyone in the hallway.  
“Don’t tell me…?” Nick asked.  
“No.” I laughed. “Too old. I doubt his thing even works anymore.” I laughed.  
“Olivia!” Danse called out. “Follow me.” I did as ordered. Danse lead me to his room, opening the door to reveal a new bed in his room. He downsized his bed to make room for two twins on opposite sides of the room.  
“Aw Danse, you made a space for me.” I cooed.  
“Since you’ll be here for a while, I didn’t want you sleeping on the floor again.” He blushed, rubbing the back of his head.  
“It’s a good thing I don’t need a bed.” Nick stated.  
“Oh hush, you can share with me.” I patted his arm. Danse looked mortified.  
“I doubt there’s room for-” Danse started.  
“We’ll be great.” I interrupted, walking to the far side bed. I rested the crutches against the locker and sat on the bed. “This is so thoughtful Danse. Thank you so much.” I smiled.  
“Consider it an apology for taking so long to get to you.” He replied.  
“Well it’s pretty late now, I wouldn’t mind heading to bed now.” I stated.  
“Agreed.” Danse said, changing into his sleeping suit.  
“About that Olivia,” Nick started, “I need to do a shut down for the next 8 hours to let my systems repair. I did a number having ran for over a day straight and staying for a whole week.”  
“Oh dear, Nicky why didn’t you tell me?” I replied. “Come sit over here near me, I’ll make sure you’re okay until it’s done. I’ll be here the whole time.”  
“I know you will.” Nick gave me a hug then sat next to my bed, the yellow light behind his eyes turning off.  
“I don’t know why you care for that machine.” Danse said.  
“Wow you really do sound jealous.” I laughed. Danse made his way over to me and sat on the bed. He put a hand on mine.  
“Olivia, back at the research facility...did that mean anything to you?” he hesitated.  
“Of course it did Danse, but I shouldn’t have done it like that. I had a lot of emotions at the time and it wasn’t fair to have put that on you. I hope I haven’t caused you distress.”  
“Not distress, but other emotions I don’t have experience with.” He replied. “I feel something more than what a commanding officer should. I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t be Danse,” I said as I squeezed his hand. “You can talk to me about whatever you’re feeling and we can sort it all out.”  
“I-thank you. This isn’t easy for me, but I felt a physical attraction to you the moment we met. From there during our travels I’ve admired that strong sense of self you have, even when I didn’t agree with you.” He started. “When I see you showing affection for others, or they you, I feel this sort of heat. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but I want it to be me everytime.”  
“That sounds like jealousy Danse,” I replied, “but there is nothing wrong with having that feeling, or being attracted to me.” I offered him a warm expression.  
“I just realized how selfish it is for me to talk like this so soon after the incident.” Danse looked at me with shock.  
“No,no,no. It’s okay Danse. You can always talk to me whenever you need to. It actually takes my mind off of it.” I assured.  
“Okay. I think the only thing I had left to communicate was that I would be interested in a relationship beyond our ranks, even if it goes against out codes.” Danse said softly, looking to the ground with a blush across his face.  
“Don’t be embarrassed.” I replied, lifting his head to me. “I would be interested too if that’s what you want, but I’m in no position right now to be committed. If you just want to explore and have some fun, that’ll be great, but I’m not trying to lead you on and break your heart.”  
“I would want that,” Danse perked up, “It’s better to gather more information on my feelings without making any commitments.”  
“It’s settled then.” I hugged Danse. “What do you want to do about it now?”  
“I-I didn’t think this far ahead.” Danse stammered, "I didn't mean to convey a message of wanting-"  
“That’s okay." I interrupted, "I’m not up for the things I would normally want to do anyways. In fact, I suspect it will be a little while before I can stomach anything physical.” I sighed.  
“It was not my intention to try and have relations with you tonight when I expressed my feelings.” Danse quickly said.  
“I would feel better if we shared a bed though. Having you there would make me feel safe, as it always does.” I admitted.  
“Are you sure?” He asked.  
“Affirmative.” I winked.  
“Affirmative.” Danse mimicked with a soften face. He let me lay down first and carefully placed and hand around my bandaged waist. I drifted off to sleep, enjoying the warmth radiating off of his bulky frame.


	26. Second Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting back to Cait and the road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cait is going to be a major bitch while she's still addicted and going through a rollercoaster of withdrawals. She will be much more aggressive than in the game.

“I was wondering when you’d show your face.” Cait spat from the corner of a jail cell, “You made me come here just to have me sitting in this hole for three weeks.”   
“Hey now Cait, I didn’t force you here. I am sorry about the wait though, I was bed bound. I kinda had several broken bones...so.” I trailed off, “I was told that you’re having withdrawals so I brought you a few addictols.” I walked into the cell, handing her three inhalers.   
“That shite don’t work on me.” Cait said, refusing the medication. “I need something stronger.”   
“What’s stronger than this?” I asked.   
“There’s a vault that made this machine to suck all the drugs out of you, making you clean.” She answered.   
“Well I can get you there Cait.” I replied.   
“Who said I want to get clean?” She snapped, her eyes cutting through me.   
“No one, although you’re the one who mentioned the vault so I assumed you must have been thinking of it.” I countered. “What drugs do you need?”   
“I-pyscho.” She stammered with a surprised look.   
“Alright, here’s a diluted syringe so you can curve the withdrawals without getting too high.” I said, pulling a needle out of my bag and handing her the drugs.   
“Olivia what are you doing?” Nick questioned.   
“Bad decision Knight.” Danse stated.   
“Addiction is a disease guys. It requires a gentle touch and a lot of understanding to treat. Cait here was a slave, forced to fight. Drugs are a coping mechanism she could get plenty of access to. We would all do something to cope in her shoes, yes?” I countered.   
“Fair point.” Nick concedied, Danse didn’t speak but scowled at me.   
“Thanks, I guess.” Cait said, snatching the drugs.   
“You have been free to leave this whole time you know?” I said.   
“Aye.” She responded.   
“Well, it seems like there is something here that made you want to stay. What is that?” I asked.  
“I don’t know.” She sighed, shooting the psycho in a raised vein. “Guess I was curious bout ya.”   
“That’s fair.” I said, taking a seat beside her that was close enough to show caring without being too close for comfort. “I’m an open book, what do you want to know?”   
“Why didn’t you fight me back? I was bout to kill you back there, give you a good wailing. You were ready to take it once I got a grip on you.” She asked. Nick and Danse both raised their eyebrows.   
“I don’t like fighting.” I stated.   
“Shite, how did you make it this long not wanting to fight?” Cait responded.   
“It’s a long story, but basically I was part of a vault tech experiment. They froze us all for over 200 years. You’re looking at a genuine prewar relic.” I laughed.   
“Do you think I’m stupid enough to Bellevue that crock of shite?”   
Cait snapped.   
“No. I’m telling you the truth though so do with that what you want.” I replied, “I don’t like fighting, but I’ve become damn good at it since I thawed out. I’m not a fistfighter, but a sharp shooter. I’ve managed to make it this long off charisma to avoid a fight.”   
“Not surprising a pretty girl like you could talk a man out of shooting you.” Cait said.   
“It backfires with creeps and rapists.” I laughed, masking the pain of the truth of the statement,  
“Oh about that…” Cait began, “I’m sorry Breaker did that to you.” I winced at hearing what he was called, and immediately knowing why that name specifically. “He only does it to the women that find themselves in the combat zone. I saw him rape a woman in his own crew in the middle of the stage for dropping his beer. Man was a monster.”   
“Well, now he can’t hurt any other woman again.” I replied, staring into the ground.   
“Ahem.” Nick cleared his throat. “We should figure out what you want to do from here Olivia. It’ll take several more months to get the machine ready.”   
“Yes.” I said, shooting my head up. “I need to stop in at the Castle to make sure Preston is okay managing the Minutemen. Then I should inform Hancock of what was happening at the Combat Zone and let him know the area is cleared for now. Would be a good idea to hit Diamond city after that for a rest before going to Sanctuary. After that, my only plans are to start some more combat training and modify my weaponry and armor to prepare for entering the Institute.”   
“You could get the best training here.” Danse replied. “I could give you some hand-to-hand combat training.”   
“I’ll take you up on that Danse, but I need to check in on my friends first. When you were flying me back here, all I could think about was them. I knew I didn’t just have Shaun I needed to pull through for, but all the people who’ve grown close to me.” I said.   
“I wouldn’t want to live in a world without doll.” Nick smiled, making Danse very uncomfortable. “I’m sure Hancock would miss you almost as much.”   
“Hell yeah he would, especially after we-“ I cut myself off before I spilt the beans to Danse. He would find out eventually, but he might just kick me out of the Brotherhood when he does.   
“After what?” Cait asked, suspiscallly eyeing myself and Nick. I didn’t respond.   
“Knight?” Danse said shortly, an implied command.   
“After we had such a nice time hanging out together, over drinks.” I stammered out the half truth. Nick’s shoulders dropped as if he had been holding in his breath.   
"Sounds like this Hancock is someone I want to meet." Cait said.  
"I'd imagine you two would make quite the pairing." I snickered. "Now how about we get you out of here?"  
"I'd say it's about damn time." Cait replied.   
…

"Well I'll be damaged, welcome back general!" Preston exclaimed, running up to me. He made for an embrace, but Nick put a hand out to stop him.   
"Olivia was assaulted real bad a few weeks ago. It's best to avoid physical contact until she's fully recovered." Nick said.  
"I'm sorry to hear that general." Preston looked to me with a worried expression, "you can take your time here before I give you a report."  
"No,no. Give me the report. My body hurts, not my hearing." I smiled. Preston perked back up.  
"We now have twenty soldiers stationed here, with 10 settlers. We got the water purifier running again, so no danger of thirst. The settlers have managed to get some crops growing well. We're projected to no longer need caravan aid in two weeks. The artillery is getting built now for our long range defense and the armory was intact, so we'll be stocked up for a while." Preston stated.  
"Sounds like you're trying to take my job." I laughed.   
"No I think you're the better leader." Preston rubbed the back of his head, "I also have a surprise for you, follow me." We all trailed Preston like a row of ducklings. Given how awkward and crowded the party was, I could understand why most travel in pairs. "Here we are."   
Preston had lead us to a large room in the corner of the East wall. He opened up the wooden and steel door, exposing the work he had done. The room had been cleaned surprisingly well, no stench of mirelurk present. There was a king sized bed with matching red sheets and pillows. Old paintings hung on the walls, faded but homey. An open square cutout of the stone wall was modified with a wooden drop panel and curtains, making it a real window. A few matched rugs of a reddish hue were placed in front of all the furniture. This included a dresser with broken glass display, a nightstand, and a large wooden trunk. Lights we installed on each wall of the room with switches. It was the greatest room I've seen in all the Commonwealth.   
"Preston this is absolutely amazing." I exclaimed.  
"Ah thanks General. I wanted to make this for you, as thanks for making all of this possible for us. The Mintuemen owe you everything." He proudly replied.   
"Wait, your saying this is all for me?" I gasped.   
"Of course. All our Generals have had their own space." He responded.   
"Wow." I replied, walking around the room. I looked up at the ceiling, which was also cleaned. Taking a seat on the bed I could feel a few broken springs, but nothing compared to sleeping on the cold floor.   
"Guess you're suppose to be important?" Cait piped up.  
"Not really." I said, still taking in room.   
"That's far from the truth." Nick laughed.   
"Never thought I'd be traveling with someone so high and mighty." Cait continued.   
"Do you have a problem citizen?" Danse asked her.   
"Nothing." Cait spat.   
"General?" Preston asked.   
"Yes Preston?" I replied.   
"There is a matter I need to speak to you privately about." He stated, morning for me to follow him out of the room.   
"Of course. Please everyone, make yourselves at home and feel free to explore around." I said, heading out into the office with Preston. I took a seat across from him at the table. "What's the matter Preston?"  
"Well…" he hesitated, "I am not one to question your judgement General, but that woman you've brought looks like a raider."   
"She was forced to work for raiders." I replied. "While I was gone, I got into a situation at the Combat Zone. I was kidnapped and assaulted in...a variety of manners." I choked up, clearing my throat before continuing. It looked like Preston caught on and he grabbed my hand in that tender way he always does. "We were put into a cage together and forced to fight. She does have a chem addiction, so make sure to keep a tight lock on our supplies while she's here. I couldn't leave her there though. There is so much pain in her eyes. I think I can help her."  
"You know it's not your responsibility to help out every poor soul in the waste right?" Preston stated.   
"Won't stop me from trying." I smiled. "Was there anything else?"  
"Yes there was." He replied, "I've been thinking a lot about...us. I missed you. I'm hoping we could-if you would want to-" he stammered with a blush.   
"I would want to." I squeezed his hand, "but I physically can't right now. I was roughed up real bad Preston. I'm not even sure if I'll ever be able to bring myself to do anything again. I-" my tears cut me off. The nightmare was too fresh. I could feel my body start to shake. Preston leapt from his seat to me, gently wrapping me in his arms. My body began to calm at the familiar touch. It was really a familiar touch akin to that of a brother. It almost felt wrong to think about a sexual relationship with Preston. Sooner or later I would have to express this to him. Maybe I've always known this. Not breaking this off now would be shitty of me, but in this moment of comfort I want to be selfish. The truth would have to wait for tomorrow, today I'm taking what I want.


	27. Tempers Flare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> everybody is cranky and testing Olivia's patience. Everyone has their limits to bullshit.

I spent the night sharing my bed with Preston in the same platonic matter we've always done, except this time it was only platonic to me. Since I plan on staying a few days here, I'll wait until tomorrow to break the news to him. Doing today will just make him more confused. Danse and Cait were given beds in the barracks with the soldiers. It was more fitting than the settler's room given Danse was a soldier and Cait needed to have an eye kept on her. I hate taking precautions like this because it made me feel like I was dehumanizing her, but I know from experience that when you're struggling with addiction you'll do things you don't even want to do. I gave her some more diluted physco for the night and the morning. Hopefully she didn't use both before bed.   
I stood at one of the two cooking sites preparing some breakfast for the gang. I snuck out of the bed, careful not to wake Preston and deal with an awkward good morning. Before me in the flame was several mirelurk eggs frying in Brahmin fat. The fat takes away from the fishy flavors of the eggs. In a pot to the side was chopped carrots and corn that I boiled. I added stripes of Brahmin to the frying pan next to the eggs. It's important to cook mirelurk eggs until they're browned to kill any bacteria that may have penetrated it.   
"I smell something good." Nick came beside me, putting his hands on both of my shoulders and leaning over my head to look at my cooking.   
"I try. If you knew me before the war I could make you meals that'll knock your socks off." I mused.  
"You don't need food to knock my socks off." Nick flirted, burying his head into the side of my neck, "The rest of my clothes too for that matter."  
"Well apparently Hancock can too." I laughed.   
"Hancock can what?" Preston asked, looking to Nick with a jealous eye.   
"Pop the top off a nuka cola with his asshole." I snickered, drawing a warm cackle from Nick.   
"So what, I can do that." Cait appeared from nowhere.  
"Oh…" Preston replied. Clearing his throat he continued, "I uh, just wanted to make sure you were alright. You were gone when I woke up."  
"Aw she leave your bed cold? What y'all got some sort of forbidden romance between ranks or some white?" Cait mocked.   
"Hey bitch chill out." I snapped, drawing surprised looks from everyone. Danse was just walking into earshot when I replied and moved his laser rifle to his hands. It was nice to see him moving around without that power armor and on that criminally tight orange suit.   
"Oh so you do have some balls huh?" Cait laughed. "I'll take the hint." She walked off toward the farm area of the courtyard.   
"That's the first time I've heard you snap like that." Preston said.   
"It's a sore spot." I replied.   
“Speaking of sore spots.” Nick said while Danse approached me. He had fire in his eyes, directed at Nick.   
“What are you doing hanging onto Olivia like that?” Danse griped.   
“Oh me?” Nick asked, turning his head to me and planting a kiss to my cheek. Danse looked sick at the display. I could almost make out a green hue to his face.   
“You’re a monstrosity.” Danse stated.   
“Maybe, but at least I’m personable.” Nick replied.   
“Can you two stop fighting?” I asked with a sigh.   
“Who's fighting doll?” Nick said, stroking the back of my head while staring at Danse. This was a display of dominance between the two that deep down I enjoyed, but given the circumstances was trying my patience.   
“You could never give her a normal life. You’re just a machine with implanted emotions.” Danse spat.   
“Hey that’s-“  
“Oh yeah pal? Why don’t I show you what I’m capable of giving her that you can’t dream of.” Nick interrupted me, feeding the fire.   
“Hey guys this isn’t-“ I managed while unwrapping myself from Nick’s grasp.   
“How dare you suggest that you-“   
“Oh it’s more than a suggestion.” Nick winked at Danse.   
“That’s disgusting, Olivia would never-“ Danse cut himself short at the sound of a flare gun.   
“Thank you General.” Preston finally spoke.   
“If you boys are done measuring your dicks, breakfast is ready. You two don’t have to like each other, but I swear I will kick both of your asses if you can’t stop fighting in front of me.” I threatened, And stop talking about me like I’m not here. Hell, you’re fighting over me like a piece of meat…” I choked up at the realization that that’s all I am now. That’s all I could be after the Combat Zone, right? I’ve been letting myself be loose and now I’m all types of damaged goods.   
“Olivia?” I heard Danse call.   
“Hey Olivia, doll, what’s wrong?” Nick asked.  
“General?” Preston hesitated.   
I was still, barely breathing. I could hear everyone around me but I could see them or respond. My voice was lost, my vision a blur. I knew I had to be staring into space with them. Black spots appear in my sight and I felt surprisingly at ease.   
“OLIVIA!” All three men shouted in unison.   
…

I could feel my body wake up before my eyes. My extremities were heavy, my throat dry, and my head pounding. I could faintly smell burnt eggs in the distance. Under me I could make out a dull feeling of a fitted mattress. I must be in the room Preston set up for me. I could just start to make out voices as the rest of my senses came to.   
“This is your fault. She should have never took your company.” Danse hissed.   
“Sounds like you’re just upset she hasn’t took yours.” Nick countered.   
“Hey guys just stop it. Olivia might be able to hear you.” Preston mediated. It sounded like he was between them.   
“You really expect me to believe she would have laid with you like a man? That’s disgusting.” Danse spat.   
“I don’t expect you to believe anything in that empty head of yours.” Nick replied.   
“Seriously this is going too far.” Preston tried to muster a commanding voice, but it fell flat compared to Danse.   
“When Olivia is done making use out of you I’m going to-“  
“Going to what Danse?” I said, having sat up in the bed unnoticed.   
“Olivia!” Preston bolted to my side, handing me a cup of water. I drank it greedily.   
“You just shut down on us back there. Nick caught you before you hit the ground.”   
“Been out for thirty minutes now.” Nick said.   
“Holy shit, you two have been fighting that whole time?” I gasped. Nick and Danse both looked to the ground in shame. “When we get to Goodneighbor one of you will be dismissed from the party. Three’s a crowd and I can’t handle that stress right now, it’s-” A sharp pain in my chest took the breath out of me. I clenched my skin over my heart and doubled over, a strangled groan escaping my mouth. Nick ran to me and Danse took off for a local medic.   
“Olivia what’s wrong?” Nick panicked.   
“It’s-it’s my chest.” I gasped for air.   
“Olivia I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.” Nick replied, rubbing my back.   
“I’ll get some more water.” Preston said, leaving the room to the well outside. All three men were back into the room together by the time I caught my breath.   
“Olivia the medic isn’t here right now.” Danse said with a tinge of fear.   
“It’s okay, it’s passing.” I replied.   
“Doesn’t look like you’re strong enough to take on the Institute from here.” Cait’s voice echoed.   
“How dare you talk about the General like that.” Preston surprised everyone with his tone.   
“Your general is weak. I don’t think I can stomach traveling with someone like that as a leader. Back in the Zone the leader has to beat everyone in a fist fight, she wouldn’t last a day-“ Cait stopped talking as the tip of her ear began to trickle blood down her neck. She looked to me with big eyes, staring down the barrel of my pistol. It was resting on my nightstand, easy to grab without anyone noticing before it fired.   
“That wasn’t a missed shot.” I said, chest still moving hard from the exertion. “I didn’t get here by being some little pansy. I’m not asking you to like me, but you’re damn well going to treat me with some fucking human decency.” I stared her down to the point I felt like I was looking into her soul. She wasn’t responding, in fact the whole room was quiet. “Cait, you’re a free woman now. You can go anywhere. If you don’t want to follow me, then fucking leave. I want to help you. I’ve already located the vault that has the cleaning machine on my pipboy. It was my plan to get you in that vault after leaving Sanctuary, but at this moment, I don’t give a fuck about you. No one has gotten to try and belittle me without a fight since I was 12.”   
“Doll, it may be time to put down the gun.” Nick whispered, trying to reach for it. I shoved his arm down with my free hand.   
“You need to calm yourself Knight.”  
“I can make my own choices children.“ I replied, “As for you firecracker,” I cut my eyes back to Cait, “if it’s a fight you want we can go outside right now, but I’ll have a round between your eyes before you can even raise your fists. Wanna go?” I asked, standing on shaky legs. It was pure anger and adrenaline keeping me up right.   
“That’s okay, I see you got some fight in ya. That’s enough for now.” Cait spat in the corner and headed out of the doorway.   
I lowered my gun back on the nightstand and sat back onto the bed.   
“Knight, you can’t be so rash.” Danse began.   
“Oh shut up Danse.” I snapped. Nick began to open his mouth, “And don’t even think about defending him Nick.”   
“General maybe you need to-“   
“Oh for fucks sake, you too Preston?” I cut him off. “You know what? I think I’ll head to Goodneighboor on my own.” I stated, beginning to bring my traveling armor out of the chest at the foot of the bed.   
“Wait, no. Don’t be like that.” Preston replied, grabbing my arm.   
“Stand down Preston.” I commanded, drawing a hurt look. It felt like a punch to the gut to have made him so plainly hurt like that. I exhaled to attempt to remove some of the tension in my shoulders. “I’m sorry Preston. Just give me a minute please. Everyone please just leave me for a moment.” I said while rubbing my nose.   
I spent the next few minutes of alone time packing up my essentials for the road. My 10mm was the only gun I needed. I've spent so much time practicing with it I could hit targets from a sizable distance and in close quarters. I had a couple grenades too. I always expect the possibility of supermutant run-ins near the city. I'm pretty nervous about bringing Cait to Goodnieghbor given the accessibility of cheap chems, not to mention how willingly Hancock is to share. The sooner I get Cait to that vault the better. With my things together I headed out of the comfort of my bedroom and back into the courtyard where everyone was gathered.   
"Alright everyone get your bags, we're heading out soon." I announced.   
"Sounds good to me." Nick responded.   
"Good idea Knight." Danse agreed.   
"General, let me come with you." Preston said.   
"No Preston, I need you to stay here and direct the Minutemen. You need to prepare the troops for an attack on the Institute." I replied. Preston looked disappointed, but shook his head in understanding. "But Preston, I need to speak to you privately for a moment." Preston followed me into the office.   
"What is it General?" He asked.   
"I wanted to discuss the matter of our relationship." I responded. "Please sit down."   
"This doesn't sound good." He replied, taking a seat across from me."  
"We started this relationship knowing that it was to test the waters. I really do care for you, but I don't want us to continue being anything more than friends." I said in the most soft tone I could muster.   
"I can't say this isn't disappointing Olivia, but I understand this was the risk I was taking." He replied in a defeated manner. "May I ask why?"  
"I feel as though we don't make a good match for each other. Ignoring the fact I'm your senior, I feel a bit of a disconnect between us. You're a great man and will make an even better partner for someone else, maybe someone more your age." I said.   
"I don't feel it now, but I know you're the best judge of character I know. I'm sure with time I will see that you're right, but for now I'm going to miss us." He replied.   
"I'm sorry Preston." I apologized.   
"Don't be General." He stated. With that, we headed out in silence and I hit the road with a lighter chest.


	28. Straight Outta Vault Tech Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback to Olivia's first day out of 111 and how she met Preston. A two part scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this story Preston gets lost trying to find sanctuary and ends up in concord, also there are no raiders inside the building

There I was, laid in a pool of blood. It wasn’t all mine either, the scorpion's blood was mixed in. It gave off a darker red than mine. The beast had stung me twice, once in my left arm and again in my right one. Guess I was lucky to have managed to avoid the claws. The simple 10mm I took from the vault was out of my reach now, as I couldn’t move my hands. Damn venom was coursing through my body, burning the whole way. My feet have already started to numb too, surely my heart was to be next. I could manage to feel the cold liquid under my head, now soaking into my hair. It was repulsive, but at least it would be over soon. I won’t care once I’m dead. Damn Vault Tech for this. I wish it had been me and not Nate. He was the one with the military experience. He would have found Shaun, but no, it was me. This world I find myself in is cruel and bleak, I never stood a chance.   
“Miss?” A voice called out. I couldn’t turn my neck to see the man, but I could respond.   
“Yes! Please help me.”   
“Hold on, I got some antivenom. Looks like you took one hell of a nasty sting.” The man said, appearing in my field of vision. He was young, perhaps in his mid twenties. His skin was darker than mine and he was wearing a ridiculous outfit. It was like traveling back in time to see a minutemen responding to danger. “Here we are, drink this.” The man directed, lifting my head and putting the glass vial to my lips. The taste was bitter and I had to fight back the urge to vomit.   
“Thank you stranger.” I managed to say before coughing violently.   
“No problem miss. Preston Garvey, Minutemen, at your service.” He stated, tipping his hat. If it wasn’t for the incredible pain I felt as my limbs lost their numbness, I would have chuckled.   
“Thank you Preston. I’m Olivia.” I extended my hand to him.   
“What are you doing out here on your own?” Preston asked.   
“I just escaped a vault.” I replied.   
“Wow, a real vault dweller. Good thing we were passing through here to-”   
“Why did you go running off for Pre-” A man with a thick country accent came beside us, “Woah, what have we got here?”   
“She was about to die from a Radscorpion sting. She’ll be fine now.” Preston responded.   
“Sounds like you’re pretty lucky.” The man said.   
“I don’t feel too lucky right now.” I laughed.   
“No doubt.” Preston replied. “We got to keep pressing forward, try and take care of yourself out here.” With that the men were off, followed by several people.   
“Sure thing.” I said, standing up wobbly and wishing I asked to join them.   
I managed to make it to my old neighborhood by dusk. The place was in ruins, but I could see a familiar shape in the distance.   
“Cod-Codsworth?” I hesitated.   
“MISS OLIVIA!” He shouted, flying toward me. “Why, I thought you were dead.”   
“I nearly was, what’s happened here?” I asked.   
“The bombs fell of course. Where is master Nate and young Shaun?” Codsworth asked.  
“Someone killed Nate, and stole Shaun.” I started to choke up.   
“That’s not funny.” He replied. “If you’ve survived 200 years than they must have.” He floated his weight to the side as an uncomfortable human would.   
“200 years? I’ve been gone that long?” I gasped.   
“Give of take. Now, where is the rest of the family?” Codsworth continued.   
“Codsworth...they are really gone.” I began to cry.   
“I’m sorry Mistress, they will be missed.” He replied, twirling his robotic arm.   
“Shaun is still out there. I need to find him.” I said.   
“I will stay here and hold the house front!” Codsworth stated.   
“Alright. I’m going to wash up at that creek and head out then.” I replied, walking to the water. There was no one around at the moment, so I stripped out of my clothes and plunged into the cold water. The blood on my hair made the water tinge red. I felt indescribably better having that grime off of me. I quickly toweled myself off with an old t shirt that I found while fleeing the vault, and made my way back to the remains of my home. Still in the drawer where I left it was two of my favorite outfits, covered with dust. One was a sharp black trousers with a soft white blouse, the other a pair of jeans and a red flannel button-up shirt. I opted to wear the flannel and jeans. Codsworth agreed to keep watch over me so I could get a few hours of sleep before heading out.   
…

Concord was swarmed by aggressive armed people, all shooting at one target. I couldn’t make out exactly who it was, but I knew I needed to help the poor soul. Since the shooters were preoccupied with the building in front of them, I was able to sneak close behind rusted out vehicles. I had a good angle at one man, able to aim exactly in his head. My hands were shaking and wet. I never killed anyone before. Nate has though, and if he could then I could. I knew I needed to learn since getting out of the vault after seeing that bald man shoot Nate. I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. When I opened my eyes, I could see the man on the ground. His blonde hair reddened from the whole in his head. Surprisingly the men around us hadn’t noticed me, probably assuming it was from their target. My stomach was queasy, threatening to hurl. On shaky legs I managed get behind another metal clad man. This one was much larger. If he noticed me, I would be dead before I could shoot. As before I aimed at the back of the man’s head, closed my eyes, and fired. This time, someone noticed. I squatted behind the car the man was at. There was a bat wielding woman looking around for me. I glanced at the body of the man I murdered and found a grenade on him. This would be helpful against the cluster of men nearest the building, if only I could move at the moment. My legs were frozen under me in fear and nausea. I couldn’t hold back anymore and unloaded the acid from my empty stomach. The woman hunting for me found her target. She raced toward me. My heart was panicked and survival instincts kicked in. This time I didn’t close my eyes as the bullets unloaded. One hit her stomach, causing her to double over. The second hit her leg, knocking her to the ground. She was screaming in pain. My heart told me to go help her as my medical training taught me, but my brain knew better. The only thing I could do was put her out like a horse with a broken leg. I aimed and put a round through her head. The remaining three men had turned to me, scattering bullets. I grabbed the frag grenade and did my best to launch it toward them. I’m ashamed to admit to myself that I’m a natural to this kind of killing, because all three of them were forced into the air. Legs and arms detached from their bodies lying on the ground. All dead. It was adrenaline that kept me on my feet as I ran for the door.   
“Olivia?” Preston’s voice rang out. “What are you doing here? Wait, nevermind that. Grab that musket and get over here before the next group comes!” I did as commanded, feeling guilt over taking a gun out of a dead man's hands. With a deep breath, I opened the door to a scene of horror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 2 next, don't worry the Deathclaw stays


	29. Straight Outta Vault Tech Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lending a Hand, making a Friend, becoming General?  
End of flashback

Raiders. There were several along the upper floor and stairwells. They didn’t notice me sneaking into the building. They were too focused on trying to bust into a door on the farthest side of the building. That must be where Preston was. I took cover behind a table and tried to steady my breathing as I began to aim at the nearest raider. I thought of a war tactic my father taught me of. He was told stories of the Apache fighting tactics his father told him. Take a shot, hide. When the enemy doesn’t see you, attack again. I quickly fired a shot into the raiders head and immediately took cover. The other raiders definitely took notice, but none of them appeared to know where I was at.  
“Where did that come from?” I heard a raspy man say.  
“Come the fuck out you coward.” A woman yelled.  
“I bet she’s on the first stairs.” Another man said as I heard his heavy footsteps begin to run.  
Luckily for me, the stairwell was in front of the table. If I am cautious, I may be able to take him out then run to the second floor before his friends get here. With my heart beating out of my chest, I peaked around the table. Of course he was looking right at me. He alerted his gang and bean firing into the table. It was absorbing most of the bullets, but I could see it beginning to splinter. I looked to the closest room and calculated a way to run backwards while firing to attempt to cover myself. That plan didn’t quite play out like I planned. The moment I began to run backwards one of the raiders on the upper floor shot me in the leg. I cried out in pain, my tears blurring my vision and making me miss every shot.  
“Bleed bitch!” The man yelled as I dove for cover behind a wall. In the room were mannequins dressed in historic clothing. A prerecorded message on the American revolution. I made myself a hiding spot under a fallen mannequin and some rubble. This wouldn’t work long, but I just needed to bandage the wound to stop the bleeding. I grabbed a gauze wrap I had in my old medical bag that Codsworth had protected at home. I wrapped it around my wound as tight as I could, causing the bleeding to slow done. I was confident that the bullet missed any major arteries. The raider had entered the room and was looking around for me. Thanks to my petite stature he couldn’t see me behind the rubble. I could hear his footsteps on the stairs. He was leaving the room to look for me elsewhere. Slowly I made my way out of my cover and creeped toward the stairs. He was near the top, facing another room. I took the opportunity to fire, a clean shot to the head. I darted up the stairs ready to fire at the remaining raiders, only to find one was dead and the other was rushing into the room Preston was in. I could hear Preston yelling and see lasers flashing past the raider. She was wielding a nail covered bat and wearing metal armor. Preston was going to be in for it if she got close enough. Ignoring the stinging in my leg, I rushed to him. I owed him my life, now it was time to save his.  
Preston was fending off the deranged woman by blocking her swings with his musket. His left shoulder was bleeding from several puncture wounds. I fired a few rounds into her back at the same time as the mystery man that was with Preston from before. She screamed as she hit the ground. I could hear the familiar gulping gurgles of death, same as I heard when I did rotation in an ER. Death wasn’t the quiet peace of movies, it was terrifying noise and suffering. I put a round in her skull to end the process, turning from her.  
“Whew. We were in for some real trouble if you didn’t come across ma’am.” The man with a pompadour haircut said.  
“You can say that again.” Preston agreed, shaking my hand. “What were you doing here?”  
“I was looking for some help, but I guess I was the help.” I laughed, wincing at the pain in my leg that was dulled from the adrenaline rush.  
“Well I’ll be glad to provide you with some assistance, but we need to get out of here first. There are some more raiders coming but were nearly out of bullets.” Preston said.  
“Oh and you’re wounded.” I said, reaching out to inspect his shoulder. He seemed to have blushed.  
“It’s not that bad.” He replied.  
“It’s not that good either.” I countered, “Let me patch it up real quick, I got the supplies.” He shook his head in agreeance and sat down in a wooden chair so I could reach the whole wound. “I’m just going to flush the punctures, put a little healing ointment in, then put in a few stitches.” Preston winched the entire time.  
“How do you know about this stuff? I thought you just came out of a Vault, surely they didn’t have fighting wounds like this?” He asked.  
“Well actually...I’m a doctor, from before the war.” I started. He looked at me like I was crazy. “Now I know you think it was that venom from earlier that’s talking, but let me explain. Vault 111 was an experiment on the effects of cryogenics. When I got the the Vault right after the bombs fell with my husband and son, they tricked us into getting in their freezing pods. I just thawed out a couple days ago.”  
“Wow. I knew vault tech did some nasty things, but I wasn’t expecting that.” Preston replied.  
“I can’t imagine how you feel about our world now.” The man by the terminal said.  
“Oh she’s full of Brahmin shit.” An angry woman sitting in the corner said. “We already have Mama Murphy here, we don’t need another junkie with us.”  
“Okay bitch I didn’t ask to join you.” I snapped. “Sorry I came in and saved you from raiders.”  
“Why you-“  
“That’s enough Marcy.” A weak voice from a man beside her said. She turned to him like she was going to hit him, but just looked instead.  
“I’m Sturges by the way,” he said, breaking the awkwardness. “I got an idea to get us all out of here alive, but I need you to be the one to do it.”  
“I’m listening.” I responded.  
“There an old pre-war suit of power armor up on the roof that’ll show those raiders hell. Mini gun on the vertibird next to it can be ripped off once you have the suit on.” Sturges continued.  
“Oh I know what you’re talking about. Those big hunks of machine with the West Tek internalized servo-system that is suppose to give you super strength, protection, and radiation resistance?” I replied. Sturges’ eyes went wide. “That’s all I know.” I laughed, “my husband use to tell me about his all the time.”  
“He is a soldier? Before the bombs fell?” He asked.  
“Yeah he was. Wish he was the one that made it out instead of me right now.” I answered. “What’s the hitch in the plan?”  
“Well...The suit's out of juice. Probably been dry for a hundred years.” He replied.  
“Do you know where a battery is?” I asked.  
“There is one in a generator on the bottom floor. Now that the raiders are gone you should be able to get it.” He said.  
“I can manage that, assuming my leg doesn’t give out on me.” I looked at the still bleeding wound. I grabbed a stimpak out of my bag and injected it right above my wrapping. The bleeding and pain stopped, but I couldn’t heal it while the bullet was still in my leg.  
…  
The power armor was rusty and smelled of sweat, metal, and oil. I gagged a bit as it closed around me. I pulled the mini gun Sturges mentioned from the aircraft. Even with the suit, it was still very heavy. I could feel the strain on my leg. I leapt down from the roof, landing in front of the raiders that had gathered around the road. I sprayed the gun around, they didn’t stand a chance. It was a slaughter and I was the butcher. I felt sick enough to vomit in my suit, but managed to keep it down. I turned to Preston who was on the roof watching.  
“Good job! We’ll head down.” He shouted.  
I waited for the group to make it back down. There was a rumbling noise coming from somewhere behind me, but I couldn't make it out. Preston appeared from behind the door and walked toward me, then stopped with fear on his face. There was a crashing sound followed by a roar. I turned to see a dinosaur running at me. Without thinking, I began to spray the beast. Preston pushed the group back inside and began shooting it also.  
“What the hell is that?” I yelled to Preston.  
“It’s a deathclaw, deadliest creature to exist.” He yelled back.  
The deathclaw was nearly on top of me, taking a swing at the suit. To my surprise it struck me so hard that the arm of the suit popped off. I staggered before continuing to fire, moving away from it and Preston. It fell on its stomach after I concentrated fire on its right leg, but damn if it didn’t take it down. It was just angrier, and angrier meant leaping on me. I landed hard on my back, losing my breath. Up close like this, I could see every detail of its face. It had teeth about 3 inches long, his nostrils upturned and flared, his eyes were beady yellow shells, and his horns gnarled. It roared at me as it began swinging at my suit. I felt a sharp pain in my arm that was exposed and heard alarms in my suit as the monitor showed my icon turning red. This whole suit was going to break if I can’t get this thing off me. The deathclaw stopped swinging and started trying to bite my helmet. Taking the opportunity while my hands were free, I swung my armored hand at its stomach, sending the beast howling backwards. Everything had a weak spot, and I just found his. I stood up as fast as the suit allowed and picked up my mini gun. I rained more bullets into the beast and watched it crumble to the ground. This time it was down for good.  
I stepped out of the suit to exam the slash that deathclaw gave me. It was about two inches deep, which was lucky because its claws were much longer than that. The cut was bleeding pretty heavy, which worsened my condition considering the blood loss from my bullet wound. I sat down on the broken pavement, feeling light headed and cold. Preston ran over to me, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I looked down to my leg, the bandage saturated in blood. I’m not even sure I recovered from that spill with the Radscorpion. Preston and Sturges picked me up by the legs and head, taking my inside of the building. I could see the man I shot in the head laying a few meters on the ground beside me. My vision was spinning, blurred. Flashes of Preston digging in leg and Sturges grabbing my stitch kit from my bag. I couldn’t feel them though, just the cold invading my body.  
…

“Well I’ll be, you’re awake.” Struges said. He was sitting in a chair tinkering with a gun next to my bed. I looked around and immediately knew we were back in my old neighborhood. The house we were in was halfway missing. Holes in every wall and windows broken out, even the ceiling was missing pieces. “Don’t try to sit up or move too much.” He continued.  
“Wasn’t planning on it.” I replied. My body was aching and weak. I felt as though all the blood left my body and was replaced with air and pain. I couldn’t even feel my left foot on the leg that bullet hit. I wiggled my fingers to make sure I hand some feeling.  
“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe you fought off a deathclaw. They’re the baddest things around, although I reckon that suit kept you alive.” Sturges stated.  
“I won’t argue with you there. That thing was a damn dinosaur.” I tried to laugh, feeling the dessert of a throat I had.  
“What’s a dinosaur?” He asked.  
“Oh, uh. They were reptilian animals that lived before humans came around. Some were tiny and more bird like, but others were giant and weighed tons.” I answered, forgetting that these people didn’t have traditional education now that everything was bombed.  
“Sounds fake, but I guess you would know more seeing how you’s prewar and all.” he replied.  
“Huh. Does that make me a collectible than?” I smirked.  
“Well I’d get one before they’re gone.” Sturges winked back. I was taken aback. Surely he was just teasing me. I don’t think I could handle anyone being serious with me so soon after Nate. I need to get Shaun back before I have any thoughts on that.  
“Woah there, I’m just playin with ya.” Sturges said as if reading my mind, “You look so serious.”  
“I’m just lost in thought is all.” I lied.  
“It’s good to see you up.” Preston stated while walking in the door. “How are you feeling?”  
“Like I was hit by a truck then trampled by an elephant.” I replied. Both Sturges and Preston looked to me and each other, completely lost about what I was talking about. It’s going to take me a long time to figure this all out.  
“Well that sounds bad. I brought you some medicine that I managed to find.” He continued.  
“Thanks Preston.” I said.  
“It’s the least we could do.” Preston replied, “Speaking of which, I got a proposition for you.”  
“Alright?” I said.  
“Even though you didn’t live in this time, you have shown courage and strength. You risked your life for a bunch of strangers and even took down a deathclaw. On behalf of the Minutemen, I want to name you General.” Preston said proudly.  
“Uh...sure Preston,” I started, “You can call me what you want, I guess.”  
“Oh no, I said that wrong.” Preston began to fumble. “I meant I want you to lead the Minutemen. We have no leadership, no structure, and almost no support right now. I believe you can fix that.” He finished with a slight blush.  
“Me? But I don’t have a clue about anything going on. I never shot a man before now and I’ve almost died twice.” I exclaimed.  
“Everyone has had a brush with death or two here. Everything else you can learn. I’ll teach you.” He replied.  
“I don’t know. It seems like a lot right now.” I responded.  
“You don’t have to give me an answer now. Just worry about getting better. Once you’re up and well, I’ll teach you how to shoot with more than just a 10mm.” With that Preston walked out the door with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story continues next chapter


	30. Bullets Take My Breath Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the way to Goodneighboor the gang has a super mutant encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter and delay. Outer Worlds released

There was no laughter, banter, or arguing once Danse, Nick, Cait, and myself left the Castle. Danse and Nick were probably too ashamed of their bickering and Cait seemed to have learned a lesson after I nicked her ear. I was glad for the silence for once, being left to think about my next moves. There was one major thing troubling me though, my heart was still tight and causing me discomfort. Thinking back on all the injuries I’ve had since being here, the only major one I could think of was back at the Zone. Even those kicks couldn’t entirely explain this. I didn’t get these pains until I endured the arguing, so maybe this was stress related. There’s no denying I’ve been under intense stress and trauma. But then again, I don’t get those feelings when I’m fighting off raiders and mutants. I needed proper imaging equipment and test supplies to know for sure.   
“Olivia?” I heard Nick whisper from close behind me.   
“Yes Nick?” I replied.   
“How is your chest? That spell you had earlier really has us all worried.” He responded.   
“It’s bearable.” I answered, “Just try not to pick fights with Danse for me.”   
“Alright.” Nick said before falling back into our normal travel line formation.   
We were halfway to Goodneighboor now and were lucky not to have had any run ins with hostiles. Unfortunately my chest was bothering me enough to shorten my stamina to the point I needed to rest. Under normal circumstances I could make this trek in a day with just a few breaks for water and food.   
“Alright guys, look around for a good place to shelter.” I commanded.   
“Is that wise Knight? We’re approximately halfway to our destination. We could make it there in two hours if we continue double time.” Danse replied.   
“I can’t this time Danse.” I responded, rubbing the clothing above my heart.   
“Are you not fit for duty Knight?” Danse continued.   
“Everyone needs a break sometimes Danse, besides, this is my mission.” I countered. Danse simply shook his head in understanding.   
“There a building up ahead that has most of its roof and walls. Should be safe.” Nick said.   
“Excellent work Nick.” I replied, heading over to the location. Indeed the walls were mostly there and the ceiling covered about half of the room. There were mystery stains on several sections of the floor, but beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.   
“Nick, do you think you can handle most of the watch tonight? I’m thinking just a four hour rest will be enough.” I asked.   
“No problem.” Nick answered, taking a seat on a wooden chair in a corner of the room. I pulled out the straw mat I keep rolled up in my bag to sleep on. It offered no comfort other than not touching the dirt. I rested my head on my arm and turned it my side, trying to ignore the nagging feeling that something was very wrong with me.   
…

“Show time everyone.” Nick said, waking us up. “Mutants inbound, we haven’t been spotted yet.” We all jumped to our feet, weapons hot. There were three mutants visible. Two carried rifles and one had a plank. There was also a hound with them, who would surely catch wind of us soon. This was a pretty small group, making me worry that there were others we couldn’t see yet.   
“Hey guys, doesn’t this seem a little odd? Why haven’t they spotted us yet?” I whispered.   
“Probably still too dark for them to see well.” Nick answered. I nodded in response.   
“Alright everyone, on the count of three fire at the hound.” I commanded. “One, two-”  
“THERE YOU ARE!” A thundering voice called out. We turned to see a brute with a minigun behind us. He opened fire, spraying the room. Nick caught a bullet to the arm, Danse’s power armor withstood the bullets, Cait got grazed on the leg, and I took a bullet straight to the rib cage. I could feel the air around me rushing into my chest, taking my breath with it. It took all of my will to cover my hand on the entry wound and attempt to stop more air from entering. Breathing was nearly impossible. I looked in horror from my position on the floor as the other mutants rushed the room. They didn’t bother with me gasping on the floor, knowing I would be dead soon anyway. Isee Cait taking a bat to the hound and his claws ripping into the flesh of her arms. Danse is keeping the brute’s focus on him, rapid firing his laser rifle. Nick is in a standoff with the two rifle wielding mutants. The mutant with the board was on the ground bleeding. It seemed like no one noticed me, which was for the best because I didn't want them distracted. I am dead weight to them right now. I couldn’t move my hands even if I wanted to.   
“Damn it.” Nick cursed under his breath. His hat hit the floor with a bullet hole in the center of it. Mutants aren’t the best shots, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous.   
“Come on princess! We need back up!” Cait yelled to me. She clearly didn’t perceive the gravity of my status. “Get the hell up!”   
“What?” Nick turned to me. I have never seen such an expression of terror on his face before. In the moment, he looked human. The moment was temporary has a round crashed into his arm, clearly snapping off one of his plates. He quickly snapped back toward the mutants and took one down. Danse seemed to be almost done with the brute now and Cait’s hound was down. Cait ran out the room to fight the remaining shooter, dodging as many bullets as she could. I am lucky to have such competent allies. Nick turned his attention to me. I’m not really sure he gives a rat’s ass about Cait.   
“How did this happen? Where are you hurt?” Nick began to rapid fire. I tried to gasp out an answer, but I was better off just trying to stay breathing. I’m fairly certain one of my lungs already collapsed. Nick motioned to move my hand and I violently shook my head no. “It when through the chest?” Nick asked, more to himself than to me. "Danse! We need you over here. Olivia's down. I don't know what to do." Nick was panicked.   
"Inbound." Danse stated as the brute finally fell. As Danse came into view, I could tell he was banged up. "What happened Knight?"  
"She's too busy trying to catch her breath to answer you." Nick replied, irritated.   
"Looks like she took a bullet to the chest. We'll need to patch the hole to give us time to get to the nearest town." Danse said, rather level headed. This clearly wasn't his first time giving emergency field care. He was quick to grab some spare cloth from my bag and ball it up. He removed my hand just enough to shove it into the wound. I winced at the pain.  
“It’ll be okay doll.” Nick said. “We’ll get to Goodneighboor soon.”


	31. Like a Goodneighbor, Hancock is there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia gets help at Goodneighbor. Everyone's favorite raisin is back.

I could feel the life slowly draining out of me in Danse’s arms. Blood was steadily oozing from my wound. I winced in pain at each jarring motion of Danse’s run. I could see the consternation on his face. He must think I’m dying, which wouldn’t be wrong. My head leaned back, fatigue making keeping my head up too much work. I could barely see Nick, but he was looking at me in alarm at the movement.   
“Stay with us doll.” He said.   
“I’ve always pulled through haven’t-” my replied cut short by blood coughing up and out of my mouth, spewing onto the ground.   
“Olivia!” Nick yelled. I could see the lights of Goodneighboor. Nick was rushing Danse to Dr.Amari. There was a lot of commotion once I was in her lab. I could hear a table shrieking as it was drug across the floor and the doctor calling out orders to Danse and Nick. I didn’t see anything happening because my vision was blurred and my head was toward the ceiling. The lights were so bright. I heard Hancock come in the room, calling for Sunshine. If I die on this table today, at least it is in the company of my friends, well, everyone but Dogmeat and Vadim. Everything went dark as I felt Dr. Amari begin to work on me.   
…

“My Sunshine isn’t looking very...shiny right now.” Hancock’s voice reached my ears, muffled.   
“She is severely wounded, freak.” Danse cut.   
“Don’t start this now, you know how much Olivia would hate it.” Nick mediated.   
“You want to take this outside tin can?” Hancock replied.   
“Your not worth the bullets.” Danse said.   
My eyes were still shut as I focused on what they were saying. I could feel the pain medication Amari gave me wearing off. My side was a burning ache and the rest of me just downright hurt.   
“Hey guys.” I managed to say through chapped lips and a sore throat. “Shut up please.” I opened my eyes slowly, the ceiling lights still too bright.   
“Olivia!” Nick and Hancock darted to my bedside. Danse was still seated.   
“If you want me to shut up, you know what to do to me.” Hancock winked.   
“Careful of the company.” I laughed, my ribs protesting.   
“Well I know too.” Nick smirked.   
“What are you talking about?” Danse asked, annoyed.   
“Nothing that needs to be said.” I answered. “So, what’s this about me not being shiny?” I looked to Hancock, his face turning serious.   
“You can’t see yourself Sunshine but...you’re looking almost as bad as me.” He tried to smile, but the worry on his face ruined it.   
“I look like a raisin?” I asked.   
“Alright asshole I guess you’re fine.” Hancock laughed.   
“It’s good to see you’re still yourself doll.” Nick replied. “Danse is glad too but he won’t get near Hancock so you can’t see him look worried in the corner.”   
“Don’t speak for me, machine.” Danse spat.   
“Looks like nothing has changed, so I couldn’t have been out long.” I stated.   
“About a day.” Nick replied.   
“Great. Can someone let Dr. Amari know that I can feel my stitches right now?” I asked.   
“I’ll get here.” Nick said, touching my cheek before heading to the stairs.   
“Hey Sunshine, I hate to say it but I have some Mayoral duties I need to handle. You going to be okay without me?” Hancock asked.   
“Of course. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up later.” I winked. “I’m sure Nick misses you as much as I do.”   
“Magic fingers Sunshine.” Hancock said as he left the room, wiggling his fingers on a raised hand.   
“Well Knight, you seem to be feeling better.” Danse cleared his throat.   
“Well it’s easy to feel better after almost dying. I’ll be really sore, probably need to stay in Goodneighbor for a couple weeks before I can make the walk to Diamond City.” I replied, “Hancock will probably let me crash with him and I’ll arrange a room for you and Nick at the Hotel.”   
“You should stay with us.” Danse said.  
“For once I agree with our bucket head.” Nick responded.   
“I need to talk to Hancock anyways, so I might as well stay there. I also can get some of his chems since I’m out without having to move around. Besides, I missed him. I want some time with him alone.” I stated.   
“We’ll be checking in on you often then.” Nick said.   
“Of course.” I replied. I didn’t tell them the real reason I wanted to stay with Hancock was to get away from their squabbling. It hurts lying to them, but it can’t be helped right now.   
“You can spend the night here under my watch then head to major Hancock.” Dr. Amari came back into the room.   
“Thank you.” I replied.   
“Now, everyone else please leave my patient so she can rest.” The doctor said.They men complied and said their goodbyes. Hopefully they won’t kill each other overnight.   
…

“Didn’t expect you to come here so soon. You must have missed this ugly mug, huh?” Hancock said as I walked into his room, my wounds freshly dressed and myself adorned in my white blouse and a pair of worn jeans. “And looking so ready at that.” He smiled.   
“Anything for you, you sexy raisin.” I countered.   
“You always say the things I want to hear.” He laughed. “Now what can I do for you Sunshine?” He asked.   
“I was hoping I could stay with you for a while and take you up on the chem offer.” I answered.   
“Sounds good to me. Come on the couch, I got some special jet I mixed up.” Hancock said, making a sweeping motion to his torn red couch and grabbing a yellow jet canister from his desk. “This has jet and buffout in it. Should knock out some of that pain of yours.” I took it from his taunt hands, inspecting it before taking a cautious puff. The effect was immediate. Time slowed down and my body was halfway numb. I couldn’t feel how sore I was and for the first time in forever I was relaxed.   
“This shit is amazing.” I said slowly, taking a second puff.   
“Seems like you’re a jet girl. I’m more of a mentats man, makes me feel intellectual.” He replied.   
“Yeah, this is great. Kinda turning me on too.” I said before I could think about it, my cheeks turning red with embarrassment.   
“That so?” Hancock asked, putting a hand on my upper thigh. “Now I know what to bring you when you’re healed up.”   
“Guess so.” I smirked, closing my eyes and resting my head back to enjoy the high. I took another puff of the jet before I slipped into sleep, addicted.


	32. Wrinkles and Mercenaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MacCready enters the fold.

“Well, well, well,” I began, “isn’t this a warm wake up.” I said as Hancock rubbed my shoulders.   
“Sunshine gives me some energy.” Hancock winked. “You have visitors outside when you’re ready.”   
“Ugh...yeah let’s let them in. I’ll need some jet first though, they’re getting on my nerves.” I replied with a sigh, grabbing some regular jet of the nightstand.   
“You know, if you want a change in company I could go with you. It’s been too long since I got down with my fellow lowlifes.” He replied.   
“You want to go with me?” I asked, surprised.   
“Of course Sunshine.” Hancock answered, planting a kiss on my cheek before heading to open the door.   
“Good to see you awake.” Nick said as he walked toward me, giving me a quick hug.   
“How are you feeling Knight?” Danse asked.   
“Calm for once.” I answered.   
“Good. Is there anything you require of us?” He asked.   
“Yes actually, from the both of you.” Both Nick and Danse looked curious. “I want you both to go home.”   
“What?” They said in unison.   
“I’ll be leaving on my own for now. Until then there is no need for you both to be sitting around waiting on me. Go home and take care of the work you’ve been putting off running around with me.”   
“Olivia-”   
“No.” I interrupted Nick, “This isn’t a request. It’s a command. Go. Home. You’ve both been fighting so much that I can’t stomach anymore right now. I’ll grab the both of you soon enough.”   
“What about Cait?” Nick asked.   
“Oh yeah, where is she?” I asked.   
“The Third Rail, drinking.” Hancock replied.   
“Ah. Could you take her to Diamond City with you Nick? Tell Yefim to put her stay on my tab.”  
“Ok, but you better get over there soon.” Nick said, leaving the room.   
“Be careful Knight.” Danse said, following Nick.   
“Well that was quick.” Hancock stated.   
“Yeah.” I sighed. “Let’s get back to the back rub though.” I smiled to him.   
“With pleasure.”   
…

A week has passed now since I got to Goodneighbor. Now I could walk around without too much pain. Hancock accompanied me often on my walks around the town, but this time he sent one of his watchmen with me. His name is Baker and he is a ghoul. He’s pretty sweet and very muscular, kinda like Vadim.   
“So you really took down a Deathclaw?” Baker asked.  
“With help, yes. I was so scared I pissed my pants.” I replied, both of us laughing.   
“So can I ask you something, personal?” He asked as we past the hotel and headed toward the market.   
“Sure, I’m an open book.” I smiled.   
“Are you and Hancock…” He stumbled.   
“We have some fun, but it’s nothing serious. Why?” I answered.   
“I wanted to know if you liked ghouls so I could um,” Baker cleared his throat, “take you out sometime?”  
“Any other time I would just take you behind that alley and let you fuck me on the wall, but I’m still recovering from some serious injuires right now.” I responded.   
“Oh uh.” He coughed. “I understand. Maybe I’ll catch you at a better time?”   
“Maybe.” I winked.  
“DAISY! How’s the most beautiful girl I know?” A voice rang out in the market. A man in a trench coat with a rifle strapped to his back was leaned on Daisy’s counter.   
“Hey, who’s that?” I asked Baker.   
“MacCready. He’s the best shot in all of the Commonwealth. Great gun to have at your back, not so much at your front though.” He answered.   
I laughed, heading over to the man with curiosity.   
“Olivia!” Daisy called out, MacCready turning to face me. “How’s my girl doing?”   
“Still got a few bullet holes in me, but you know how it is.” I replied.   
“What ya need hun?” She asked.  
“Nothing, just wanted to introduce myself to MacCready here.” I said, the man squinting his eyes at me.   
“I don’t know you, how do you know my name. You a Gunner?” He asked quickly.   
“A what?” I questioned. “Oh and Baker here told me who you were.” I pointed at my ghoul friend.   
“You never heard of the Gunners? The toughest gang in the Commonwealth? You’re not from around here huh?” MacCready said.   
“You could say that.” I chuckled, drawing a snort from Daisy.   
“What’s so funny?” He asked. Baker looked confused.   
“She was a vault dweller.” Daisy said.   
“Vault dweller huh? Explains the injuries.” MacCready replied, his eyes taking me in.   
“Hey now, I can handle myself.” I said with a slight pout, straightening my back.   
“Sure. Well if you need a gun at your back, I’m for hire.” He smirked.   
“I could use a gun, actually.” I said.   
“Then I’m your man.” He replied.   
“How much?” I responded.   
“250 caps. No negotiation.” He stated.   
“Everything is negotiable,” I smiled, “make it 200 and you have a deal.”   
“Fine.” MacCready said. His eyes glanced to my breasts, which were mostly visible through the sheer fabric of my blouse.   
“Good, meet me at the gate then.” I said, leaving the area to head back to Hancock.   
…  
“Ready to hit the road?” MacCready said, leaning against a rail near the gate. Those eyes of his sized me up and down. I wore my vault suit with reinforced leather armor. My hair up in a big bun with a few loose curls hanging down to frame my face. I was freshly washed and ready to head out.  
“How the hell are you MacCready?” Hancock said.  
“Hey there Hancock.” He said, shaking Hancock’s hand.  
“Glad to see you here, here’s the payment.” I handed him a bag of caps. “Thank you for seeing me out Hancock.   
“It’s too bad you’re headed to Diamond City, otherwise I’d go with ya.” Hancock said.   
“I’m sure you would.” And with that MacCready and I headed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be longer, and more romance is on the way soon. There is a tumblr account for this story in progress at https://justalivingdepressedmeme.tumblr.com/. Currently there is no specific content for the story, but I will be working on visual art pieces as my final exams finish. I share funny fallout and outer worlds content there also.


	33. Back to the City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MacCready, Cait, and Valentine all in the city

“God dang Supermutants!” MacCready yelled. His refusal to curse was pretty cute to watch. A supermutant had managed to swipe his board at him, having managed to not fall from MacCready’s rain of bullets. “A little help here?”   
“Hey I got my own problems over here!” I responded. I didn’t have a melee mutant, but I had two shooting hunting rifles at me. These mutants were better at dodging my bullets than previous ones I’ve encountered. I only managed to land five shots in the past several minutes. They landed one to my left thigh and a few grazes.   
“Ah FUCK you!” MacCready yelled at his opponent. I glanced over to see him shooting his rifle directly into the mutant’s face. A shower of gore sprayed his face, making me feel sick.   
“Good job, now come over here.” I commanded.   
“Yeah I’m coming.” He replied, running to me. With his help the other two supermutants were down in no time. MacCready handle his weapons well, a better shot than me.   
“So what do you think? Told you I was worth it.” He said to me while making a display as though he was a Greek hero.   
“Oh? I haven’t noticed.” I teased.   
“Oh come on.” He said, deflating.   
“I’m kidding. You’re a damn good shot and I’m glad I found you.” I responded.   
“Heck yes I am.” His chest inflated again.   
“Just don’t go getting a big head now, you’re too lanky for that to work.” I laughed.   
“Hey now, I’m not lanky. I’m fit.” MacCready defended as we started walking again.   
“Those aren’t mutually exclusive.” I winked.   
“So...what is your deal?” He asked.   
“What do you mean?” I answered.   
“From what I learned about you in Goodneighbor, you’re a vault dweller, the general of the Minutemen, a knight with the Brotherhood of Steel, and some sort of devoted mother.” He said.   
“Oh wow, does everyone in Goodneighbor know my story? Yeah I’m all of those. The Minutemen have a philosophy I believe in, the Brotherhood has the technology I need access to, and I’m looking for my son who was kidnapped by the Institute while we were in Vault 111.” I stated, as though rehearsed.   
“ Your son was kidnapped?” MacCready's eyes were wide.   
“Yeah. He should be about 11 now.” I said.  
“That’s about the age of my Duncan.” He looked down at the ground.   
“You have a son too?” I piped up.   
“Yes. He’s real sick though, back at my homestead.” MacCready looked gloomy.   
“Is there something I can do to help? Is his mother taking care of him now?” I asked.   
“His mother died a long time ago from a feral attack. I barely managed to save Duncan.” He whispered.   
I put my hand on his shoulder, “I’m sorry MacCready. I understand. When my Shaun was kidnapped they shot and killed my husband Nate, who was trying to save Shaun.” I looked directly into his eyes, “If there is anything I can do, let me know.”   
“Ah, thanks.” MacCready said, then remained silent all the way to Diamond city.   
... 

“iHola Arturo! ¿Como estas?” I said to Arturo at his stand.   
“Estoy bien, ¡pero sería mejor si compraras algunas de estas armas!” He replied, both hands on the counter and leaning forward.  
“Estoy seguro de que lo sería. ¿Tienes algo interesante para mí?” I replied.   
“Sí-”   
“What are you saying?” MacCready interrupted.   
“Oh I was asking if he had any interesting weapons. Sorry, I forget Spanish isn’t common here.” I answered.   
“Okay.” MacCready didn’t look convinced.   
“I got in a new sniper rifle. I installed the grip, hand tooled.” Arturo said.   
“Ohhhh lemme see.” I jumped up and down like a giddy schoolgirl, taking notice of MacCready’s eyes lingering.   
“Feel free to test the grips.” He said as he handed me the gigantic gun. I let my hands run down the barrel to the grips, feeling the soften leather. I let my eyes take in weapon. It’s stock was varnished wood that nearly seamlessly transitioned to a black metal forestock and barrel.   
“Ay papi.” I whispered, “How much?”  
“For you? 500 caps.” Arturo replied.   
“Sold.” I said, counting out the caps on the counter.   
“Treat it well and you’ll be protected.” Arturo said as we left to the Dugout Inn.   
“So, that’s one hell of a gun you got there.” MacCready said.   
“Isn’t it?” I responded.   
“So what are we doing here?” He asked as we approached the door.   
“I need to let some people know I’m okay and to pick Cait up. You’ll like her.” I winked.   
“OLIVIA!” Vadim’s voice carried down the hall.   
“Vadim!” I called out, picking up my speed with my arms raised in the air. He darted from around the counter and gave me a hug.   
“It has been long time, no?” He asked.   
“Yes, too long.” Yefim answered. I left Vadim’s embrace for Yefim. He moved his arm around my waist, squeezing me in tight like I was trying to escape him.   
“I missed you too.” I laughed. “Now, where is Cait?”   
“I’m here ya daft bitch.” Cait said from the corner of the room, drunk off her ass.   
“Yes she’s…ah.” Yefim didn’t have any more words.   
“Yes she is.” I replied, locking understanding eyes with him. "Come on Cait, there's some people I want you to meet."  
"Fine I'm coming." She replied, stumbling out of the chair.  
"Would you like me to come?" Yefim asked, nervous.   
"No, but don't worry about me. I'll be back." I said, and led Cait and MacCready out the inn.   
"Who's this handsome fellow?" Cait asked, leaning over toward MacCready.   
"Uh hey. I'm MacCready, Olivia's hired gun." He responded.   
"So now you're having to hire people to travel with ya?" She asked me with tone.   
"No, just needed a break from my usual followers is all. Did Nick show you around town?" I replied.  
"He showed me what's important, where the booze is." She laughed.   
"Right." I said, "Now that you two know each other, I'm taking you to see Sun, speaking of which. We're here." We approached Dr. Sun's stand. "Hey there Doc." I smiled.   
"Dr. Olivia! So very nice to see you. Is something ailing you?" He replied. I seemed to be the only person he ever was nice to. Maybe because I'm also a doctor.   
"I'm recovering from near death again, but no. I'm here for you to take a look at my friend Cait here." I responded, turning slightly so he could see her.   
"Ay, I didn't agree to seeing some doctor." She snapped.   
"I didn't ask you to." I replied. "I need your strongest addictol and a few basic ones for the road."  
"I see. I have supplies to spare, let me fetch them." Sun said.   
"I'm not taking that." Cait huffed.   
"You are if you're going to travel with me." I snipped.   
"Who even said I want to travel with you?" She countered.   
"You're staying here for weeks waiting on me did. Now just shut up, we're going to head to the Vault tomorrow to get you the help you need. This is just for now." I replied. Cait responded with a frown, but said nothing.   
"Here you go Olivia. That's just 100 caps for you." Dr. Sun said while handing me three inhalers.   
"Thanks Sun. I owe you one." I winked, turning back to my followers.   
"Doctor Olivia?" MacCready questioned.   
"Yeah, I'm a doctor." I replied nonchalantly.   
"What's really your story? I feel like I'm missing something." He said.   
"The vault I was in tested cryogenics. I was born before the war and remained frozen for 210 years, thawing out about a year ago. Before the war I trained in Family Medicine and worked at a low cost clinic for the underprivileged. My husband was a soldier who retired before the bombs fell. That about sums it up." I answered.   
"That's, wow. That's a lot to process." He replied.   
"She's loony ain't she?" Cait asked at MacCready.   
"For fuck's sake Cait." I sighed. "I'll show you my licence back at Sanctuary if you want." Again, Cait was silent.   
We made our way to Nick's were I introduced MacCready. Nick looked like a kicked dog at me, still sensitive from being sent back home.   
“Hey Olivia,” He started, “Are you ready for me to come with you?”   
“No, but once I help out Cait with this vault situation I’ll be back for you. Promise.” I answered.   
Before Nick could respond, the door to the agency burst open and a flash of fur shot across the room. I hit the ground hard on my right side. I could smell rotten meat and feel a warm, wet brush of tongue on my face. Once my eyes focused I could see that it was Dogmeat. His eyes were bright and his tongue reluctant to stop licking even as I protested.   
“Should I shoot it?” MacCready asked, his rifle pointed at Dogmeat.   
“No! This is my dog.” I replied in shock.   
“Don’t let him see you pointing that gun either.” Nick stated, “He may be cute, but he’ll rip your arm off before you fire.”   
“No one is scared of that mangy mutt.” Cait said.   
Dogmeat looked away from me, ending the assault. His eyes looked to Nick, pleading. Nick was lounged across his couch wearing his button up white dress shirt, suspenders, and black slacks. The sight made my knees weak. Apparently, it made Dogmeat’s stomach weak. I laughed as Nick said no to Dogmeat in the most dad voice I’ve heard. Trying his luck again Dogmeat looked to MacCready, who had taken the advice to put his gun down. He cautiously walked over with tail between his legs, sniffing the end of MacCready’s duster. After a few sniffs he jumped and began wagging his tail.   
“Aw, he likes you.” I said.   
“Yeah, he is pretty cute.” MacCready replied as he began aggressively petting Dogmeat all over.   
“Guess it’s Cait’s turn now.” I stated as Dogmeat turned from MacCready to Cait.   
“Oh no you don’t you mutt.” She said, backing away toward the wall slowly. Dogmeat tilted his head and whined, but did not pursue. I whistled for him to come back to me, and gave him a treat of some dried Radstag meat I bought in Goodneighbor.   
“Well now that we all know each other, I have some business I need to attend to. Cait, MacCready, you’re both good to roam for now. We’ll meet up tomorrow at noon in the Dugout.” I said.   
“Sure thing boss.” MacCready said as he turned to walk out. Cait said nothing.   
“So,” Nick started, “what’s this business you need to attend to?”   
“Well...I find myself in need of a detective.” I replied coyly.   
“And why is that doll?” Nick played along.  
“I’ve been looking for something and I haven’t seen it in a while.” I continued as I crawled onto the couch and toward Nick’s lap.   
“It couldn’t be here on this couch, could it?” He asked.   
“I don’t know, it might be.” I said as I stroked the length of his inseam.   
“So what did you misplace?” Nick stumbled, flustered.   
“Someone who can handle me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What you came here for is up next ( ͡ಥ ͜ʖ ͡ಥ)


	34. Sex in the City Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentine and Olivia play detective a bit, with an unexpected ending. Olivia isn't coldhearted, I swear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning:  
This chapter contains sex and sexual themes, you're welcome.

Cold metallic fingers traced down my spine, sending shivers racing down my arms and legs. My hairs stood on end, sensitive to the air around us. His other hand made its way to my ass, cupping a cheek and patting it lightly.  
“I think we should discuss my fees.” Nick said.  
“I can handle anything.” I replied, getting warmer by the second.  
“Is that right?” He breathed, pulling my hair back with his left hand. My head was tilted toward the ceiling as he slipped a cold finger inside me. I gasped at the sudden crude actions. My eyes were wide open in suspense. I wanted more.  
“Help me detective.” I whined.  
“With pleasure.” He growled as he grabbed me by the waist and forced me under him on the couch. The fabric was torn and soiled, the spring coils long broken. One dug into my skin as Nick pressed his hand to my neck. I smiled as he used just the right amount of pressure to make it slightly painful, but still pleasurable. His right hand was between my legs again. I felt my sex getting wetter with every stroke of metal against me. I quivered under his watchful gaze, the yellow light shining across my face. He drew his lips to mine and forced his tongue in my mouth. It was a pleasant surprise as he pushed a finger into me at the same time. My hips jolted up as he curled his finger, the cold a sharp contrast to my body’s heat. I could almost cum from this alone.  
“I wonder what I might find here.” Nick said as he slipped another finger into me.  
“Why don’t you do your job and find out, detective.” I replied.  
Nick’s fingers moved violently as he began to lower himself from my face to my legs. He withdrew his hand to my protest and replaced it with his tongue. He darted it inside me a few times, moaning. Then he began to lick my labia. Nick took his time with it, leaving no inch untouched. His hands were running the length of my legs up and down leisurely. I rolled my hips to encourage him.  
“Are you finding what I need?” I teased, earning a muffled response that sounded something like shut up.  
Nick began to roll his tongue across my sex, earning an involuntary buck of my hips. Quickly he grabbed my thighs and forced them apart as far as he could get them. His tongue was in me again, this time to stay. He moved it as though he was searching for something. I could hear the wet sounds of our lovemaking like music to my ears. I was close now, and his tongue curling from one side to the other was going to be my undoing. My breath was heavy and my body trembled at Nick’s onslaught. He must have sensed I was close from my walls beginning to clench down against him, as he picked up his pace and slipped two digits into me. The combination of his tongue work and his metallic fingers dancing was too much to bear. My body let loose all the tension I’ve had since the Combat Zone. For a moment, the world slipped away as though my body had left itself. There was no pain, worry, or fear. There was only bliss. Then I came back to reality. I could feel the tattered couch that rubbed my skin raw. The musty, dank smell assaulted my nostrils. Looking up at me from between my legs was Nick, smiling.  
“I think I found it.” He announced cheerfully.  
“I think you did too.”  
...

“Are you sure you want to head out by yourself?” Nick asked me as I walked toward the door, fully clothed again.  
“I’m sure. I’m just going to bathe and get some food before I head back to the Inn.” I assured him.  
“You could stay here.” He countered.  
“I could, but I need to be close to Cait now that I’m here. I got to look out for her.” I replied.  
“I’m sure this has nothing to do with Yefim.” He said coldly.  
“What does Yefim have to do with this?” I snapped.  
“I’ve heard the rumors. There is something going on between the two of you.” Nick continued.  
“And where did you hear that?” I responded.  
“From some people who saw you up in the stands with him on a date. I could take you out you know. All you had to do was let me know you wanted that.” He said, sour.  
“Why are you sounding so jealous right now? You had no problem sharing me with Hancock.” I said.  
“It’s hard enough sharing you with one person.” He replied.  
“Two.” I accidentally said.  
He glared at me. “Oh yeah, forgot about Sturges.”  
“You knew this was open.” I chided.  
“That doesn’t make it less hard to know.” He spat.  
“I’m sorry Nick,” I started, “but you knew what this was after that night in Sanctuary. Goodnight.”  
….

The bathhouse was as I remembered it. Having washed was a feeling of relief second only to an orgasm. I looked into my power noodles cup wondering why Nick would suddenly have issues with my promiscuity. I guess even robotic men get jealous.  
“Hey there miss, can I-”  
“Nope.” I interrupted a clearly intoxicated man.  
He moved into my personal bubble. “No need to be a bitch.”  
I grabbed at the 10mm at my side, but before I could pull it out the man was on the ground. A tall figure had pushed him away from me. At first I thought it was a guard, but this was a man I knew very well.  
“He caused you trouble, no?” Vadim asked.  
“Thanks Vadim, I didn’t want to waste ammo on him.” I laughed.  
“You kid!” He laughed, “It’s not wise to be out at night alone.”  
“That’s what the 10mm is for.” I winked.  
“Say Olivia.” He started, “How are things going with Yefim?”  
I stared at him blankly, “What do you mean?”  
“Are you having fun? Is this something serious?” He replied.  
“I think we’re having fun, I don’t know about the serious part. I’m still...exploring.” I blushed.  
Vadim moved close to me. “I understand, there is much to see. Let me take you to the Inn.”  
“That sounds great, thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up is more sexual content, but about four times longer. ( ಠ ͜ʖಠ)


	35. Sex in the City Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yefim is back and it's bigger than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did some searching for more Yefim smuts and found there was almost none. I decided to spend more time on this to add to the small ship. Please enjoy, Yefim isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

“You didn’t have to do all of this.” I said to Yefim. He had prepared a table for us away from the clientele. There was an old table cloth draped on the table, placemats at two sides across from each other, and two plates of brahmin steak with corn. “This had to be expensive.” 

Yefim took my hands into his. “Nonsense. For you, this is nothing.”  
“Yefim-”  
He put a finger to my lips. “Just enjoy. Come, have seat.” I obeyed. This was going to be the best I’ve eaten since I don’t remember when.  
“How has the Inn ben doing?” I asked as I began to cut into my steak.  
“That friend of yours, Cait, is making it...uh.”  
“Interesting?” I offered.  
“Bothersome.” He finished.  
“I’m sorry about that Yefim. You were the only person I knew I could trust with her. She’s gone through a lot and I’m trying to help her.” I pleaded.  
“I understand. What happened to you Olivia? I heard from Cait that you were hurt again.” Yefim had worry in his eyes.  
I looked to the table. “Yeah...I was hurt real bad a couple times.”  
“What happened?” He asked. 

I grabbed at my arms as though I were chilly, remembering the Combat Zone and the Supermutant encounter. “I’d rather talk about that later. For now, I want to enjoy happy thoughts.” I smiled. 

“Well, I’m happy you are here. I wish you would stay longer.” Yefim looked to me with puppy eyes.  
“I want to, but I can’t. Cait is in a bad way and I need to get her the treatment she needs quickly. I’ll be back once we are done, promise.”  
Yefim placed a hand over mine, “You are a kind woman. People will hurt you for that. Just...promise me you won’t die out there.”  
I moved my other hand over his extended one, “I promise Yefim. Now, let’s get back to this delicious dinner.”  
…

“That was amazing Yefim. Did you cook it?”  
Yefim brushed the back of his head with a hand, “Yes. I’m glad you liked it.”  
“I don’t know if this night could get any better.” I smiled.  
“About that...I was hoping you would,” Yefim began to stumble, “If you would not mind, ah. Let me start again.” I kept my smile on to encourage him to keep trying. “Would you spend the night with me?”  
My eyes widened. “Is that what you want?”  
“I really care for you Olivia. I know you are not ready for serious relationship. I know you have something with Nick and he isn’t your only lover.” Yefim cleared his throat, “I want to be where they are with you. I cannot leave to travel with you like they do, but I want to be yours when you are here.”  
“I like you a lot Yefim and if this is what you want, then I’d love to spend the night with you.” I caressed Yefim’s face, “If you really want it.”  
Yefim touched at my curls, “I really do plamya.” 

We both moved from the dinner table toward the inn rooms. Yefim’s was in the very back. He told me once that he chose that room because it was the furthest away from the bar. He hated the noise that came with running a pub. Truthfully, I think Yefim would be happier on the open road with me than here in diamond city, or at least in this pub. We approached Yefim’s door, it was splintered around the corners, but mostly whole. Yefim held my hand the entire way, unashamed of the way the customers looked at him. It was like he gained some confidence already. 

Yefim opened the door and ushered me in. His room was one of the cleanest I’ve seen in the wasteland. His bed sheets were freshly laundered, all his clothes were neatly hung in his battered wardrobe, and there were several books stacked neatly in a shelf near the bed. I looked to the corner left of the door and saw a wash bucket with fresh water and a rag hung into it. He must have prepared ahead for this. 

“How would you like to start?” Yefim asked. I could hear the nerves in his voice.  
“Why don’t you have a seat on the chair?” I suggested. 

I knew Yefim had limited experience in the bedroom, so I was going to take the lead. Yefim looked like a giant in the chair. He really was a big man, like Danse. I slowly tossed a leg over one side of Yefim and straddled him in the chair. His face was red already. 

“Don’t be so nervous Yefim, I’ll guide you.” I said as I eased a hand under his chin to bring his lips to mine. He kisses so gently, like he was scared to hurt me. I felt as he slowly drug a hand up my back to the nape of my neck, carefully pressing me deeper into his kiss. I moved my hand from his chin to the back of his head and drug my other hand down his back. He jumped at the touches. I could already feel his member engorging on my thigh. We stayed in this tender kiss for a few minutes before I broke off. Yefim wasted no time wrapping his muscular arms around me and trailing his lips from my neck to my breasts. I unbuttoned my blouse, exposing my breasts in their bra. I stuck my chest out to offer them to him. 

Yefim didn’t pull them out from their clothing, but kissed what skin was exposed. The hairs on my skin were standing straight up, extra sensitive to his movements. I let my head fall back and a small moan escaped my lips as he sucked on small patches up my chest to my neck. I could feel his erection twitch at the sounds I made. Yefim shifted under me and brought himself to my face. He took a hand in my hair, pulling slightly to keep my head back as he kissed my neckline. I shivered under the affection. It felt like Yefim was worshipping me like this.  
I moved off of him, to his protest, to reposition myself between his legs. Yefim’s eyes grew wide as I worked to undo his pants and free his erection. He was easily eight inches long and wide like a stallion. He would be the most well endowed of the men I’ve been with thus far. 

“Is something wrong?” Yefim asked. I didn’t realise I was just staring at him lost in thought.  
“Perfect.” I assured him.

I wrapped a hand around his shaft and slowly began to move it up and down. I heard Yefim take in a sharp breath as I licked the tip of his penis. I rolled my tongue around his head over and over again, keeping in tempo with my stroking. I looked up to him, pleased to see the expression of ecstasy on his face. Yefim moved a hand into my hair, not pushing my head down on him but encouraging me with its presence. Keeping my eyes locked on his, I lowered my mouth onto him. He jumped ever so slightly at the warmth. I kept my hand toward the base of his shaft, picking up the pace. As I sucked, I kept my tongue curled to caress the edge of his head every time I moved up. Yefim threw his head back, moaning. His sounds sent shivers down my body and I felt myself grow incredibly wet. My head bobbed quickly now, Yefim’s hand growing tight in my hair. He was panting at this point, probably on the edge of climax. 

“Don’t,” Yefim breathed, “don’t stop plamya. I’m-” He didn’t finish his sentence before cumming. His semen had a tinge of salt, but not overwhelmingly so. I decided to play the dirty girl and flash the seed on my tongue to him before making a display of swallowing it.

Yefim cusped my face with both his hands and leaned down to plant a kiss on my forehead. “That...that was amazing Olivia.”  
“I’m glad you liked it Yefim, you were quite the mouthful.” I winked. “Are you tapped out for the night?”  
“No, I will not stop until you are satisfied.” Yefim answered, standing up to reveal that his erection was already halfway back.  
“You have quite the stamina there huh?” I laughed. 

Yefim blushed, then grabbed me by the waist. He lifted me up off the ground and carried my to the bed, gently laying me down on it. His bed sheets smelled of mutfruit, sweet and fresh. He must have washed them in anticipation for this. Yefim moved himself on top of me in the bed, propping himself on his forearms as to not crush me. He nudged his face into my neck and began kissing it. I felt as he shifted his weight to one arm and moved his other to my clothes, slowly unbuttoning my pants. My breath hitched in my throat at the sensation. 

“Is okay?” Yefim muttered into my neck.  
“Yes, please.” I answered. 

He groaned at my response and pushed more weight onto me. Yefim really was a big man, nearly double my weight and a foot taller than me. I reached a hand to his head, encouraging him to keep his lips on my neck. He had my pants entirely unbuttoned now as I slid it off my blouse. Yefim lifted himself from my neck, grabbing my pants and pulling them off of me. I felt exposed now, and slightly self conscious. I could feel my face turn red and hot. 

Yefim lowered himself to my thighs, slowly sliding my underwear from my body. I heard an intake of breath when he saw me before he buried himself into me. His tongue was wide and took up most of the space of my sex. Yefim lapped at me, putting a thick thumb to my clit. He rubbed it slowly in circles, moving his tongue around me. I rolled my hips with his motions, getting hotter with each circle of his finger. 

“More.” I moaned to him. In response, he pushed a finger inside of me. I let out an animal like groan as he curled it directly to my G-spot. I knew Yefim only had been with one woman before me, but he moved like a professional. I felt like I was in an adult film. I started whispering his name as he picked up the pace, starting to pull an orgasm out of me. I didn’t last once he added another finger, my body shaking and clasping down on his digits. Yefim slowly removed himself from me and took his pants off, tossing them onto the floor. He said nothing as he eased the tip of his penis, leaking precum, to my opening. He stopped, as though waiting for permission. 

I gave it to him. “It’s okay, you can keep going.” Yefim steadily eased himself entirely into me, bottoming out. My hips darted up on their own, meeting his.  
“You are so beautiful.” He said to me as he pulled himself back out and in again. 

He moved evenly like clockwork. The slower pace was painfully pleasurable. I wanted him to rail me, but what he was doing now was magical. I could see from the pained expression on his face that he wanted to go faster too, but he was holding back for now. I thrust my hips to him, earning one hell of a groan. It was like I let out a beast. 

“Can I go harder?” Yefim asked, ever the gentleman.  
“Yes, fuck me Yefim.” I replied. 

Yefim did just that, pounding away like a jackhammer. My toes curled and I racked my fingernails down his back. He propped himself on one arm above my head and had the other wrapped under my waist, lifting me into him. His dick felt like it was going to rip me in half and I was loving every second of it. I made it known too, moaning with no shame or regard for anyone in the rooms near us. I drooled in the ecstasy, close to climax. Yefim gave me the warning he was close and asked where I wanted it. I told him anywhere, unconcerned about the potential pregnancy I might face if he decided to stay in. He somehow managed to thrust even faster, sending us both over the edge. Yefim came on my breasts and stomach, quickly jumping up to fetch a wet rag. He looked to me with the biggest grin on his face as he wiped me off. We spent the night intertwined with each other, enjoying the musty smell we had just put in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be going back to other chapters soon to edit better paragraph structure.


	36. Vault 95

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia and the gang find out Vault 95 is already inhabited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of an action chapter. Cait shows off her hand to hand combat

“You’re telling me that we’re going toward the edge of the Glowing Sea?” MacCready exclaimed more than asked.   
“Well it shouldn’t be too radioactive there.” I defended.   
MacCready put a hand on his hips while mocking me, “It shouldn’t be too radioactive?”   
“Hey it’s the wasteland, we’re always soaking in the rads. We need to get to that vault.” I countered.   
“I’m with handsome, I don’t want to turn into a ghoul.” Cait snipped.   
I pointed a finger to her, “That’s just offensive, there’s nothing wrong with being a ghoul.” I scolded. They both just looked at me blankly. I suddenly became very aware of myself, to an uncomfortable extent.   
“Are you a ghoul-fucker?” Cait broke the silence.   
“We’re going to keep moving now.” I avoided the question. We were already outside of Coast Guard Pier.   
“Hey are ya going to answer me?” Cait pushed.   
“Am I a ghoul fucker.” I mocked, imitating MacCready.   
“I think that’s a yes.” Cait whispered to MacCready.   
“I’m going to feed you to mirelurks Red.” I said.   
“Hey now, we aren’t pals.” Cait replied.   
“Everyone down.” I shushed, “Pipboy is picking up some hostiles.” Everyone crouched. MacCready was looking through his scope in the direction I pointed in, just south of us. “Hoe close?” I whispered, moving to his side.   
“50 meters. Three supermutants.” He replied.   
“Alright. MacCready, you and I are going to shoot them from here. Cait, you’ll be in charge of taking down anyone that manages to come within 30 feet of us. Got it?” I commanded.   
“You’re the boss.” MacCready replied, waiting for me to take aim with my new rifle. 

“Alright, I’ll take the left, you take the right.” I said, lining up my shot. I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger, the rifle bucking back into my shoulder. Both the left and right targets dropped, the middle one racing toward us with a nail board. None of us were prepared for just how fast this mutant was. He cleared half the distance by the time I got my rifle away and my 10mm out. Cait raced past us with her fists clenched tight around knives in both hands. 

The supermutant took a slow swing at Cait. She ducked and brought her right hand to its chest. She managed to get a deep slash in the thigh by her left hand before rolling away from the next swing. I took the opportunity to unload a clip into the mutant’s chest, sending him staggering back. Cait was on him again, this time she jumped on his back and ran her blade across his neck. Blood spurt from his jugular as Cait managed to jump off of him before he hit the ground. I watched as Cait wiped some blood off her knives and face before continuing to the vault again. No one spoke until we arrived. Gunmen were everywhere, apparently having made this place their hideout. 

“Gunners.” MacCready warned.   
“Those are Gunners? What are they doing here?” I asked.   
“Probably made the vault a base. We can’t take on that many Gunners and an assaultron.” He replied.   
“We made it this far, we have to see it through.” I countered.   
"You're the boss. We need to take out that assaultron first, unless you want to die by laser." He said.   
"I have an idea. Cait, how's your sneaking?" I turned to her.   
"I prefer the noisy entrance." She replied.   
"If you could sneak around and get within range of the assaultron, you can smash it's combat inhibitor and let it go loose on those Gunners. You just have to run back here before it goes after you." I explained.  
"I can handle that." Cait replied while grabbing at her muscular biceps. 

Cait snuck behind some shrubbery up to the assaultron at the top of the hill. MacCready and I aimed our rifles at the two Gunners on the scaffolding. We waited as Cait came into view. She was within feet of the robot before it turned around on her, its hands twirling. 

“MacCready fire now!” I commanded, both of us making our shots. “We have to go help Cait!”   
“You go ahead, I’ll cover you.” He replied. 

I raced up the hill trying to dodge the spray of bullets from the Gunner now pouring out of the vault. I had my 10mm in hand, knowing it would only do so much on such a sturdy robot. 

“Who the hell made these things?” Cait exclaimed while fending off the onslaught of physical attacks.   
“I’m coming!” I yelled to her, shooting at the robot’s legs.   
“Took ya long enough.” She hissed, taking a punch to the face. 

She hit the ground with a loud thud. Blood leaked from her mouth, probably from some broken teeth. Without really thinking, I tackled the assaultron. We hit the ground together, my arms facing the brunt of the fall. I unloaded a clip into its face while the orange glow of its charging laser coated my body. Cait was then the tackler, knocking me down in time to avoid losing my face. The beam shot high into the sky and began to move closer to us as the assaultron got back to its feet. 

“You got a death wish or something?” Cait asked me, gathering herself to her feet.   
“Probably. Go distract the assaultron so I can take out that inhibitor. MacCready needs a hand.” I replied. 

Cait threw a knife at the assaultron to get its attention. She stayed just far enough away to keep from getting hit. I darted behind the machine and kept rapid fired at the combat inhibitor box. It broke with sparks coming out. The assaultron turned to me now. I yelled for Cait to get ready to push it with all her strength. I fell onto my hands and feet. 

“Kick it now!” I commanded right as the assaultron was about to lean down to rip my body in half. 

Cait drop kicked the machine right square in the back, sending it tripping over me and falling on the scaffolding. It got up, parts starting to fall off, and began attacking the Gunners. It took down four of them before being put down by a combat shotgun to the face. MacCready was managing to make every one of his shots land, although they weren’t all lethal. Cait jumped down where the assaultron fell and began throwing punches and jabs at a woman in combat armor. I stayed on the high ground and rained bullets onto the rest of the hostiles. The fight was over quick after that. 

We made our way inside the vault, on alert for more Gunners. As we turned down a few halls and up a level we ran into two more Gunners. MacCready and I took them out easy. Our trio was great facing 2-3 people, but more than that had its challenges. Cait can handle one hostile at a time, but she tends to move around a lot which puts her in mine and MacCready’s crosshairs. I could trust MacCready to always make his shot, but I made mistakes.

“Three more up ahead.” MacCready whispered.   
We were on the final level of the vault, having stopped along the way to pick up chems and various items of use along the way. I didn’t need to give directions for this. Cait began to sneak up behind one Gunner while MacCready and I took aim at the other two. Unfortunately, this was one of those times where I miss. 

“Damnit Olivia.” Cait called out, racing to the man whose shotgun was pointed right at her. 

Just as the man was about to pull the trigger and end her life, his head exploded. Gore sprayed her face and torso. I looked over to MacCready who was breathing hard, my eyes wide from how quickly he responded with his rifle. Suddenly we heard the firing of a mister gutsy. Cait rolled to cover while MacCready and I fired at the machine, it exploding and sending metal parts flying. 

MacCready said nothing as he stood up and began to search the fallen men’s bodies for ammo and caps. We were all silent as we looked for the fabled cleansing machine. MacCready had a different look on his face than normal. Typically he looked grumpy to me, but now it was more of an exhausted expression. Before I could ask him about it, Cait found what we were looking for.


	37. Next to Godliness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cait gets clean, probably for the first time ever.

“Alright Cait,” I started as I strapped her into the extractor chair, “this is going to work.”   
“As much as I like the straps, it’s only fun on the other person for me.” She quipped.  
“Sorry Cait, I’m a sadist today. Now clear your mind and close your eyes. I’m going to step out to the terminal and get it started. I don’t know how long this will take, but I’ll be here.” I replied, sliding the door open. 

I made my way to the terminal, taking notice of MacCready cleaning his gun in the corner. I clicked the code to start the machine. It rumbled and dust puffed out as the mechanical arms moved a big needle toward Cait’s arm. I wanted to look away but I needed to make sure it wasn’t malfunctioning. I heard Cait scream as the needle went in. A pump kicked on and I could make out a tiny bit of fluid begin to come out of Cait. 

“Hey MacCready, it looks like it’s working!” I exclaimed, hopping in place.   
“Good, hope it was worth our necks.” He replied, flat. 

I turned away and left him to his cleaning, watching the extractor pull out of her arm. I disabled the machine from the terminal and opened the door. My shoes clicking on the metal floor. Cait appeared to be passed out. 

“Hey MacCready, can you give me a hand over here?” I called to him, listening to the sound of his disassembled rifle clank to the ground.   
“I think I should have charged you more.” He grumbled.   
“You’ll be getting a bonus.” I winked.   
“I better.” He replied, taking Cait’s left side. 

I took her right and we lifted her to a bedroom across the hall. We laid her down gently, covering her with the dusty blanket. Some dirty warmth is better than none. I left the room to go back to the dining area to find some food and water. MacCready was headed back to his cleaning. I was going to find out what was bothering him. 

The kitchen here was of decent size. Most of the food was moldy, except for a small collection of goods that the Gunners were eating before we killed them. I paused at the sight of the bodies. No matter how many times you kill someone, how many times you see their bodies, it never gets easier. You just learn to ignore that pitted feeling in your guts. I reached over one body to grab a few cans of purified water and some mutfruit. Mutfruit to me tasted like a blackberry had a kid with an apple and then rubbed that kid in dirt. Everything grown in the waste had a dirt flavor, but mutfruit and tarberries weren’t so bad. 

“I got some food.” I announced to MacCready as I walked back into the extractor lab.   
“Thanks.” MacCready replied as I tossed a can of water to him. 

I took a seat up on a counter, biting into a mutfruit that dripped juice onto my chin. I swung my legs like a schoolgirl. MacCready reach beside me to grab a mutfruit, getting very close. 

“So...what’s going on with you?” I asked.   
“What do you mean?” He replied.   
“I mean what’s going on in that head of yours? It looks like something’s on your mind.” I explained.   
“I don’t like being underground. Makes me tense.” He admitted.   
“Oh well you know what helps with tension.” I winked.   
“I...I don’t know what you’re talking about.” MacCready stated.   
“You know...spanking your monkey?” I tried not to laugh.   
“That’s not clearing anything up.” He responded.   
“Rubbing one out? Getting off?” I continued, beginning to blush.   
“Still lost.” He sighed.   
“Baiting your hook? Choke your chicken? Diddle? Hack the hog? Jerk-off?” I hesitated, see that he still didn’t get it. “Masturbate. That’s the punchline. God now it’s ruined.”   
“I don’t uh...usually do that.” He said.   
“I was just kidding around MacCready, you don’t have to tell me about your personal life if you don’t want to.” I replied.  
“Like hell he doesn’t. I want in on this.” Cait’s voice struck across the room.  
“You’re up!” I cheered, moving toward her. “Now you should be resting for a while, how do you feel?”   
“I don’t know. I feel less angry, I guess. Really tired too.” She replied, lacking the usual rude tone.   
“Well come over here and get some water and mutfruit. You’ll need to go back and rest when you’re done though.” I instructed.   
“Sure. I’ll be taking these to my room.” She said as she grabbed two fruit and a can, leaving the room.   
“I think it’s going well.” I smiled to MacCready. “What about you?”   
“I think I don’t care. Sooner we leave the better.” He huffed, his rifle now back together.   
“You need to relax sometimes MacCready. We’re safe right now, there’s food, we can catch our breath, sleep-  
“I will not be sleeping. I’ll keep watch.” He interrupted.   
“Well since we’ll be up, why don’t you tell me more about your son?” I questioned.   
“Duncan? Why do you want to know about him?” MacCready asked.   
“Well I would like to know more about you, but you seem cagey on the subject. So I figured I could learn more about you through others in your life. We’re both parents, so we can relate on a level that way.” I explained.   
“Why do you want to know about me? Why all the questions?” He said defensively.   
“Why so defensive? I like getting to know people, especially those that I’m around often.” I replied.   
“Sorry I, I just don’t have many people I can trust. Most people in the Commonwealth don’t care to know you.” He started, “My son, Duncan, is twelve. We lost my wife Lucy while he was still a baby after a ghoul attack. He’s real sick right now. That’s why I need the money from this job.”   
“Oh MacCready, why didn’t you tell me you need more caps?” I replied, reaching into my bag. I pulled out two of my pouches that I keep at 100 caps each, handing them to MacCready, “Here, take this for Duncan.”   
MacCready looked at me in shock. “Are you serious? Just like that and you double my pay?”   
“Yeah. Aside from the fact you earned it and more, I want your son to be okay. My son is lost and I don’t know how he’s doing.” I stared at the ground.   
“Thank you Olivia, no one has been this kind to me since Lucy was around.” MacCready responded.   
“Don’t mention it. I’m glad to help. I’m going to rest up over here if you don’t mind keeping watch.” I said, laying out my bedroll.   
“Yeah, go ahead.”   
…

“Alright everyone, it’s time to head out.” I announced to MacCready and Cait, having just packed up my supplies.   
“It’s about time, I don’t want to spend another day here.” MacCready replied.   
“Same here.” Cait agreed. 

We made our way out of vault 95, never to return again. I mapped out the quickest route to Sanctuary on my pipboy. Once there we could rest, resupply, and check on the settlement. It took us two days to make it and thankfully we didn’t run into much trouble, aside from the odd dog and bloatfly. I could see the gate of Sanctuary in the distance along with the guard towers Preston and I built. Marcy Long was on duty. It was the perfect job for a bitchy woman that was always aggressive. She would be good at keeping out riffraff. 

“Hey there Marcy!” I called to her, her gun aimed at me.   
“What do you want?” She snipped.   
“Just open the door.” I sighed. 

She huffed before pressing a button, opening the chain link gate. As we walked in, I took in the changes that have happened since I last left. A new housing unit had been built, this one having partitioned sections for individual rooms for our permanent residents. The public housing had finally been reinforced with metal sheets. 

“Nice little town.” MacCready said.   
“Thanks, Preston and I hoped it would grow like this.” I replied.   
“Wait, this is your town?” He asked.  
“It’s a Minutemen town. The only thing that is specifically mine is that house on the end by itself with the little garden and doghouse.” I answered. 

We made our way to my house, stopping for introductions to Sturges. I showed them the public housing area they could use for the night while arrangements were made to get them into their own rooms. Cait asked to stay with me in my house, so I obliged. I didn’t mind sharing a bed with her or lending her my couch. Cait seemed to be extra nice to me since leaving the vault. She hadn’t called me a bitch once, which is basically a confession of love from her. MacCready helped himself to some food in my kitchen before leaving for the night, saying he needed to talk to me in the morning. 

“So Cait, how are you feeling?” I asked.   
“A lot better. I wanted to thank you for pushing me to do this. I’ve...I’ve been through a lot in my life and no one who gave a damn about me.” Cait said.   
“Oh that’s okay Cait, you don’t need to thank me.” I replied.   
“No, I do.” She said, stepping close to me. “How do you feel toward women?”   
“Well I am a woman.” I laughed, confused.   
“I mean how do you like them. I’ve seen you staring at my ass.” She continued.   
“Oh.” I started, “Well I like women and men.”   
“And ghouls too?” She quipped.   
“Oh shut up. Why do you ask?” I continued.   
“To thank you properly.” She said, pushing me into my bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next...( ͡°( ͡° ͜ʖ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ʖ ͡°) ͡°)


	38. Love me Ginger, Love me True

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cait's thank you is more physical than Olivia would've expected.

I looked down to the tangled red mess between my legs that Cait calls her hair. I don’t think there has been a time in her life where she owned a comb or brush, but that was true of most of the Commonwealth. Cait had brought me to my bedroom to thank me for my insistent help. I was expecting a verbal thanks, not one as physical as this. I hadn’t been with a woman since undergrad and I’m not so sure I remember what all to do. 

Cait was moving her tongue around my labia, having just licked up and down my thighs. One hand was on my stomach, pressing me slightly to stay down. The second was moving across the length of my left leg. To be honest, I don’t know how we got here. I’m not attracted to Cait like I am to Nick or Yefim, but I’m not not attracted to her. She’s very muscular, which is always a plus. Her freckles were cute and broke up the sharpness of her facial features. Her hair was a beautiful deep red. Her green eyes pierced through me every time she looked at me, but there was something else there. Something about her told me not to involve myself romantically, but damn this head was good. 

“You okay up there?” Cait peeked her head up from my mound. “You’ve been groaning.”   
“Oh I’m just very vocal.” I blushed, snatched from my thoughts.   
“I like that.” She replied, pulling my lower half into her by my hips. 

I yipped at the sudden motion. I forced myself to relax and just enjoy the attention. This was far from non-consensual afterall. Cait made her way to my clit, flicking it with her tongue. It was different from the lapping of the men, but it made me wet as hell. Cait brought a hand up to my breasts, and fondled me through the fabric of my tank top. I wore one under my vault suit, which was crumbled in the corner of the room, to prevent chafing. My attention was brought back to focus when Cait inserted a finger into me, keeping it straight as she thrust it. I met her pace, bouncing my ass on her hand. 

“Nice arse.” She commented, slapping it. 

Cait pushed two more fingers into me, this time alternating between curling and straightening them. It felt like she was trying to coax an orgasm out of me. It would work if she kept it up. I let my mind drift, taking in the feelings of my body. My feet felt like they had lost their mass, the slight tingling sensation the only thing making me aware of them. I was acutely aware of the pressure near my pubic bone, where my G-spot is. A moan escaped my lips as Cait added a fourth finger and rubbed her thumb against my labia and clit. 

“What do you want me to do next?” Cait asked, looking up at me with those big green eyes.   
“Surprise me.” I answered. 

With that Cait licked her other thumb and pressed it into my asshole. The pressure made me jump, crying out. I ground my hips against her, earning a surprised expression. Cait withdrew her finger and grabbed the bottle of vegetable oil I keep on my nightstand for this exact reason. Sturges gifted the precious bottle to me after our second tumble. Cait put a copious amount of the oil onto her index finger and slowly inserted it into me. I shuddered as she reached the end of her finger. I never knew why I liked anal, but damn was it amazing. 

“Didn’t expect ya to be this type of girl.” She said.   
“I’m always full of surprises Red.” I replied. 

Cait smirked and began to wiggle her finger. I arched my back at the sensation. Images of Nate came to mind, as this was exactly the same way we learned I enjoyed this. I pushed down the lump in my throat that threatened tears, not wanting Cait to think this had anything to do with her abilities. 

Cait began to thrust her finger, drawing out a moan from me. I could feel that my body was on edge, having gotten close several times while my mind wandered. I was now acutely aware of every feeling of her motions. My body had that tired, almost sore feeling you get when the sex is long. I’m not sure how long we had been at this. 

“Someone is close.” Cait stated, “Time to finish this up.” 

With a burst of energy, Cait began to plow her fingers into me. She took her free hand and moved it to my vagina. She inserted three fingers that slid in easily from the sopping hole. My hands gripped at the sides of my mattress, preparing for the forced orgasm. It took my body like a storm, shaking all my bones. Cait had a devilish smile on her face, moving down to lick up the fruit of her labor. 

“Well, that’s one way to thank someone.” I laughed, a little breathless.   
“Thought you’d like it. I’ll head on out to let you get rest. Ya need it after that fuck.” Cait replied. 

She left me there, naked and a bit chilly now. It was a weird feeling as no one has just left me immediately after sex. It’s not that I was looking for anything romantic from Cait, I doubt she could be romantic anyways. I don’t really know what I was expecting. I cleaned myself off with a towel and put on a t-shirt and a pair of boxers I had found left in the wreckage of my former home. My dreams were confusing, much like my emotions.


	39. A Change and a Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia changes some things up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some kink inbound

The morning air was stale, not a single breeze to be felt. A bead of sweat ran down my forehead and off my nose, dripping into my pan over the fire. Mirelurk omelette with mutfruit juice was on the menu for the morning. I was making enough to share. Images of Nate flashed over the pan. His murder vivid, as though I was watching it in real time. It was well over a year and his death was still stung has hard as when it happened. Remembering good times with Nate was like rubbing salt into a wound, as each memory ends with knowing we’ll never make more. So lost in thought, I didn’t notice as the oil began to pop out of the pan. It had covered my arm before the singeing brought me to attention. 

“Something smells good.” Sturges said, embracing me in a hug from behind. It was an intimate position.   
“Really? I think I burned it.” I replied.   
“You need to burn mirelurk eggs to cover up that fishy flavor.” He assured me, “Are you making enough to share?” He licked his lips while he eyed the bubbling egg.   
“Of course Sturges, how could I not?” I laughed as he planted a small kiss onto the back of my neck. 

Struges left me to finish cooking while he finished boarding up a hole in the wall of the community house. I would be left to wallow in my memories for a few more minutes until MacCready appeared around the bend. He was already fully dressed in his duster, rifle strung behind his back. I, on the other hand, was clad only in a pair of ripped jeans and a thin t-shirt that undoubtedly exposed some things that would make other women blush. 

“Good morning MacCready. You hungry?” I smiled to him.   
He took a seat on the stool near me, “I am, thanks. I was hoping we could talk now?”   
“Always. What’s on your mind?” I replied, scooping the eggs into a mostly clean bowl.  
“It’s about Duncan. I normally wouldn’t tell anyone who hired me about this, but I need your help.” He paused to look at his hands, “Duncan is very sick, and his only chance at survival is an antidote that may not exist in an old Med-Tek research building that’s infested with ghouls.”   
“So you need me to watch your back to get to the possible cure?” I asked.   
“Yes. Will you please help me, please help my Duncan?” A hint of a tear beaded at the corner of his eyes, but dared not to fall.   
“Yes MacCready, I wish you would have told me sooner. We could have went straight there.” I reached a hand out, gripping his knee. “Let’s eat up first, then we’ll head out.”   
“I’ll find a way to repay you Olivia.” He stated.   
“Don’t mention it. I don’t need payment.” I responded.   
“I don’t like having a debt over my head, how about I give you back the caps you hired me with?” He suggested.   
“No MacCready, I mean it. I want to do this.” I said.   
“You’re really something else aren’t you?” He asked, drawing a blush.   
“I wouldn’t say all that.” I replied. 

…

I stood in front of the cracked mirror in my room. It had been a while since I saw myself, and I wish I hadn’t. Even after a quick wash I still had grim on me. The scar on my face was far from fading and I was covered in bruises. I had bullet wounds still healing with large scabs. The incision Dr. Sun left from my near fatal shot to the gut was parallel to my c-section scar. I looked like I had been sewn together. 

I grabbed at my hair, which had begun to lock itself. I’ve always had medium to long hair. I use to straighten it in grade school to fit in better with the sea of white I grew up in. Going to college taught me to love myself, so I started staying natural. My hair has always been a mixture of coily and curly, never wanting to pick a side. I looked to the combat knife on my nightstand, reflecting back on my mom’s shorter hair. Having my hair constantly getting disgusting was upsetting and impractical, so I had to cut it. I took a deep breath in and pushed the blade through my hair. The inches fell around me as I kept chopping. The old Olivia was gone, and with her the long curls I kept. I looked back into my mirror, to the stranger looking back at me. Tears couldn’t be stopped. It wasn’t out of regret, but of relief. 

I picked out another pair of jeans I bought off Carla, this one having less holes. They were high waisted and a little loose, perfect for travel. I put my off white t-shirt back on and began to strap on my leather armor pads. My new rifle was across my back, my 10mm on my hips, and my combat knife strapped to my thigh. I looked like a character from an adventure game, which was fitting. My hair had settled at this point and rested near my cheekbones. Mom would’ve had a heart attack if she saw me now. I made my way out of the house, having grabbed my water flask and some extra ammo. Cait was standing across the street, her eyes wide when she saw me. 

“Holy shite.” She said, making her way over. “What did ya do?”   
“Just a trim.” I smirked.   
“A trim? Ya look like ya belong here now.” She replied.   
“I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, but I’ll take it as a compliment.” I laughed. “So I need to go with MacCready for a personal reason. He would appreciate it just being the two of us, so I’ll need you to stay here. It will also be a good chance for you to relax after that treatment.”   
“Fine I’ll look after your house.” Cait sighed.   
“Look, don’t steal please.” I smiled. She laughed back at me and headed over to the community house. 

…

MacCready nearly dropped the rifle he was cleaning when he saw me. I assumed that it was a good thing, because he didn’t mention it. We had been traveling in relative silence, lucky to avoid any hostiles. We were camped out near a radio tower for the night. The chain link fence around it still functioned, so closing the gate would keep out wild dogs and deter bugs. I took the first watch, sitting next to a sleeping MacCready. It was the most peaceful look I’ve ever seen on his face. The poor man has been through a lot, and he was the first person I met that could relate almost entirely to me. We both watched our spouse die helplessly. We both knew how it felt to be separated from our child. We were so similar in experience. I’m ashamed to admit that it felt nice to have someone to relate to, not that I would wish that on anyone. 

It was dusk, the sun barely visible on the horizon. Nothing stirred in the distance but a passing family of Radstags that I was tempted to hunt. Lucky for the deer, we packed plenty of jerky with us. I kept Nate out of my mind by imagining possible scenarios for tomorrow. We knew the building is infested with ghouls, but with ghouls follows super mutants. Or maybe it was the other way around. As the sky darkened I took some comfort in the low glow of my Pipboy. I would have starved in the vault if I hadn’t found it. I didn’t need to use VATS nearly as much as I use too. The Pipboy began a soft beeping, alerting me that it was time to change shifts. I woke MacCready up with a gentle shake, then lay next to him to sleep. 

…

“Vadim! Yefim!” I shouted, wrapping an arm around both men for a hug. We were in the Dugout, but there were no other patrons. Yefim pulled me away from his brother and into a passionate kiss. I pulled away in embarrassment, but he pulled me back in. His tongue found its way into my mouth, his movements making me very hot. 

“Now, now brother. Sharing yes?” Vadim said, twirling me from my Yefim by the waist and locking his lips with mine. He had one hand square on my back and the other cupping my ass. Vadim was bigger than his brother, his muscles having been used more in adulthood than Yefim’s. I felt Yefim closing in on the space between us, pressing his erection into me and gripping at my breasts. 

“You like, no?” Yefim whispered into my ear, his breath hot on my neck. Shivers ran down my spine, sending my hips bucking into Vadim. His erection was hard against my stomach, just slightly smaller than Yefim’s. I broke the kiss between myself and Vadim to gasp for air. I felt too hot and couldn’t catch my breath. Yefim and Vadim nodded in agreeance, then Vadim picked me up and placed me onto the bar. I inhaled sharply as my pants were ripped off of me. 

Yefim appeared in front of me and took off my shirt. I was completely exposed to the brothers. He trailed kisses down my neck and collar before instructing me to lay stomach down onto the bar. Vadim moved to the opposite side of the bar and freed his erection next to my face. Without him having to ask, I instinctively opened my mouth and let him in. He was easier to swallow than Yefim. I felt my panties being slid off before the pressure of Yefim on my sex. He went in easy as my body didn’t want to resist. 

Yefim set the pace softly, each thrust from him sending Vadim’s cock deeper into my throat. I timed my breaths to Yefim’s thrusting as to not suffocate. As he picked up the pace, I could feel a slick liquid being spread on my asshole. I reveled in the anal attention. Vadim ran his hands through my short hair, gripping in pleasure at the heat of my mouth. His moans were deeper and louder than Yefim’s. 

“Am close.” Vadim called to his brother. Yefim responded by pulling out and flipping me onto my back. Vadim crawled onto the bar and slide himself under me. His penis was slick with the same liquid Yefim put onto me. Yefim pulled himself onto the bar and balanced himself on top of me. They looked at each other and nodded again, this time both sliding into me. Yefim was back into my sex, while Vadim eased into my ass. The sensation sent me into an immediate orgasm. I called out to both of them as they wrecked me. Their rhythms were in sync. I felt like I was being stretched to the max and it was sending me beyond cloud nine. 

Yefim muffled my moans by shoving two fingers into my mouth, simulating the deep throating I did with Vadim. I was a good girl and sucked on him like he wanted me to. Vadim began ramming me harder and squeezed my breasts, bringing me into another orgasm. I couldn’t take much more. Luckily, neither could they. Vadim and Yefim’s breath caught in their throats as they both reached climax. They both came inside me, the sensation enough to give me one final orgasm. Yefim licked up the cream pie from both holes as Vadim got off the counter.   
…

“Wake up Olivia.”


	40. Med-Tek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Med-Tek time

Luck was on our side today as all the raiders that were at Med-Tek had been eaten by ghouls, and the ghouls had gone back inside. The outside of the building was dusty and had vines growing up the walls. The gashes along the door were the signs of a large pack of ghouls. I approached the door with my flashlight ready, but MacCready was frozen looking at the mutilated bodies. 

“Are you alright MacCready?” I asked, bringing a hand to rest on his shoulder.   
MacCready looked to me slowly, “Have I ever told you exactly how my wife died?”   
“I believe you mentioned a ghoul attack.” I answered.   
“Yeah. Her body looked like this before I left her. She was screaming to take Duncan...and to shoot her.” His voice fell flat.   
“Did you?” I questioned.   
“Yes.” He looked at his hands.   
I paused before talking, “Then you fulfilled both her dying wishes MacCready.” I took his hands in mine, “I know you’re blaming yourself for it, because I do that to myself when I think about Nate. It’s okay to forgive yourself.” MacCready locked eyes with me. “This won’t be like that night in the tunnel, I promise.” MacCready pulled my hands, making me fall into his chest. He silently wrapped his arms around me. We stood there embraced for a few moments.   
“Thanks Olivia. Now let’s go save Duncan.” He said, pushing the door open. 

There were no ghouls in the first room, a waiting room of sorts. I checked out the receptionist’s desk for any keys we may need. There was an ancient floor plan of the building in one drawer. MacCready pointed out the place where his informant said the computer is. We walked around the corner to a stairwell cautiously. On the steps laid a resting ghoul. It’s skin was gnarled and rotten. It’s fingers were missing nails. The smell of the spoiled flesh was nauseating. Before MacCready could make a shot, I stopped him with a hand and pulled out the silencer Sturges gave me in exchange for a few sneak kisses. I aimed at the beast’s head and fired the only round needed. The muffled sound kept from a swarm of ghouls appearing. 

“Nice.” MacCready whispered to me as we made our way up the stairwell. It took us to a computer lab cover in ghouls. Some were on the floor or in cubical, while others were on the second caved in floor. They were all rather haphazardly laid out. Trying to sneak around wasn’t an option. MacCready pulled me back to the top of the stairs. “Let’s make a barricade out of some of those chairs in the lobby before we fire.” So we did that. Carefully stacking about five chairs at the entryway of the room, leaving no convenient way for them to get to us. 

With a count of three, we began shooting at the visible ferals. MacCready took the ones at a distance while I shot at the closer ones. We got four down before the others were on us. About nine were in the room. I took out three more that were climbing the chairs and MacCready got one more. The last one made it past the makeshift barricade and tackled me. I grabbed my combat knife, but MacCready gave it one head shot before I could defend myself. It’s blood landed all over my face, making my stomach turn. I stood up and brushed myself off, when a tenth ghoul running from the bottom of the stairwell rushed MacCready. He yelled as his head crashed against the wall and his rifle slid from his hands, He was wrestled in a manner that I couldn’t make a shot without risking hitting him, so I gripped my combat knife hard and jumped on the back of the ghoul. I slide the blade across its throat while pulling back on it, sending it flying off of MacCready and on top of me. I wrapped my legs around its waist to keep it pinned and wrapped both arms under its armpits to stop it from tearing into MacCready. MacCready pulled out his own knife and stabbed it in the skull, stopping it permanently. 

“You just took on a feral hand to hand for me?” He said.   
“Yeah, I couldn’t get in a good shot.” I admitted.   
“I don’t know if you’re brave, crazy, or stupid.” He replied with a chuckle.   
“Equal parts of all? I’d say foolhardy.” I laughed,   
“Really something.” MacCready replied. 

…

We traveled through several more areas with a few more ghoul encounters before we reached the terminal that unlocked the basement. We were prepared for whatever laid down there, most likely unopened for two thousand years. I caught MacCready looking at me several times, which was unusual for him. Normally he wouldn’t pay me any attention when we traveled. 

“What do you think is down there?” I asked him, having made it to the final stairwell.   
“More ghouls, nothing we can’t handle.” He answered.   
“I hope so.” I whispered to myself. 

The first room in the basement was lined with sealed rooms. Some of them had skeletons while others contained hibernating ghouls. These must have been human subject testing areas, which were banned decades before the war. 

“What is this?” MacCready asked me.   
“An illegal human testing area. Probably for pharmaceuticals.” I replied.   
“Who would do this to all these people? It’s disgusting.” He stated.   
“Vault Tech.” I sighed. “This main door is sealed.” I tested the handle.   
“There’s a terminal here that might open it.” He said.   
I hacked the computer and read the lock specifications, “If I open this door, all of them open. It looks like the lockdown protocol linked all the doors in the basement together. Once I press this, we’ll have ghouls on us.”   
“We don’t have a choice, press it.” MacCready responded. 

I entered in the command. An alarm blared as the doors groaned. The ghouls inside the rooms were banging on the slowly opening doors. The alarms also woke up the ferals that were in the final room ahead of us. We were surrounded. MacCready pulled out his pipe pistol and I my 10mm. There would be no point in using our rifles against such a large group of them. We stood back to back. I faced the lab and MacCready looked to the subject rooms. There was over a dozen of the ferals. 

We took out three running toward us and another two that were closing on us. The bullets went through their chests and heads, sending gore on the floors. One ghoul launched itself onto my leg, sending me falling to the ground. MacCready called out to me, but couldn’t help as he dodged a ghoul attack of his own. This was how many ghouls take down their prey. They get them grounded, then pile on top. Ferals liked to overwhelm by number, hunting in packs. I kicked my feet leg at the ghoul, landing square in the forehead. It was stunned but it didn’t let go of my leg. A larger ghoul appeared from the corner of the lab, rushing toward me faster than any other ghoul I’ve seen before. It glowed a bright green color and was sending my geiger counter screaming. 

I shot a round into the head of my ghoul, scurrying to my feet. My leg was scratched up and covered in blood so dark it was almost black like tar. MacCready was faring better than me, having only caught a scratch on the chest and nothing worse. His ghouls were handled, which was to be expected of such a sharpshooter. 

“RUN MACCREADY!” I screamed, stumbling away from the lab. I wasn’t sure where I was headed, but away from the glowing one was enough.   
“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? FUCK!” MacCready replied, finally cursing in front of me. 

We darted up the stairs, slowing down the ghoul. MacCready turned and got a shot through its leg, forcing it to stumble. It continued its running with a slight limp. The pain from my leg was slowing me down enough to just barely miss the claw like fingers of the ghoul. I turned around, my life at risk from just one hit, and rapid fired shots in its chest. Luck was again on my side as the ghoul fell backwards down the steps. MacCready followed my lead to one of the subject rooms, helping me close the door just before the glowing one could make it. 

“What do we do now?” MacCready asked me.  
“We sit here until we can think of something.” I answered.   
“Great fucking plan.” He replied.   
“Look I’m doing my best here MacCready.” I countered. Tears began to form on my eyes, “I’m terrified right now.”   
MacCready took notice of my expression, “I’m sorry Olivia, I just...I-“   
“Don’t mention it.” I held a hand up, dismissing him. “I think I have an idea.”   
“What’s that?” He looked to the ghoul banging on the glass.   
“I have a grenade in my bag, if we open the door just enough to slide it out, then close the door before it explodes, then it should take that bastard out.” I explained.   
“But the moment we open that door, it’ll try to push through.”  
“That’s why you’ll be holding the door.”   
“Shit.”

MacCready positioned himself at the door while I fished out my grenade. I slid down onto the floor, with my hand at the frame. On my signal, MacCready began to open the door. As expected, the ghoul attempted to come inside. MacCready strained against it. I pulled the pin and rolled it out the door. I launched myself up to help push the door close. It locked right when the grenade went off.

“Well, we kept our eyebrows.” I joked.   
“I was more worried about my life.” MacCready replied.   
“What, not mine too?” I looked to him.  
“Uh-yes. Yours too.” MacCready blushed. 

We made our way over the ghoul’s parts to the lab. On the counter in the middle of the room laid a syringe of mysterious fluid that had to be the cure. I handed it to MacCready. He was so overwhelmed with joy, he grabbed me and planted a kiss on my lips. He pulled away, surprised by his own actions. I looked at him confused.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” He said.   
“Want it to come over you again?” I said, leaning towards him. 

He hesitated before matching me, slowly bringing his face to mine. He locked lips with me. They were softer than you would have expected from a hardened mercenary. I brought a hand to his face, cupping his cheek. MacCready put a hand on my waist, pulling me into him. My legs rubbed against his. I could feel his duster on the exposed flesh of my wounded leg. MacCready pulled away, his face reddened. I could make out the pressure of an erection on my leg as he moved. 

“We should get out of here.” He said.  
“How are we getting the cure to Duncan?” I asked.   
“Daisy can set up a caravan. Let’s get to Goodneighboor.” 

…

“MacCready! What brings you here?” Daisy questioned as we head into her store.  
“You know I couldn’t stay away from someone as cute as you Daisy.” MacCready replied.  
“You’re a lousy liar, but I’ll pretend I don’t know that.” She laughed.  
“I got it, Daisy. I found the cure to Duncan's disease.”  
“That’s wonderful news, I’ll send it out to the next caravan to your homestead.” MacCready handed the vial over to Daisy.   
“He's actually not so bad, once you get to know him.” She turned to me, “Do me a favor? Look out for him, he’s one of the good ones.” She winked. 

We headed out of the store when I got an emergency alert on my Pipboy. It played a message from a vault about a child that got sick from a mole rat. They are looking for doctors to help, and someone to find the mole rat that did it.

“MacCready, I have to answer this. There’s a kid in danger.” I said.  
“There is always a kid in danger.” MacCready replied, “But I’ll follow you Olivia.”


	41. Pest Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vault 81 time

Vault 81. I stared at the painted door, memories of vault 111 flashing through my head. I think it’s official, I have developed some form of PTSD. I think I knew it from the start, but didn’t want to admit it. I found myself reliving the experiences, only drawn back to reality by MacCready who had shaken me. 

“What’s wrong with you?” He asked.   
“Sorry, had a bit of a moment. Let’s go.” I plugged in my pipboy to the mainframe to release the vault.   
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING. WHERE DID YOU GET THE PIPBOY?” A loudspeaker rang.   
“I’m from vault 111, I heard you had a sick kid that needed a doctor.” I replied.   
“A LIKELY STO-“   
“Hand me the microphone”   
“Overseer? This woman claims-”   
“I heard her.”   
“Hello?” I said.   
“Hello there. I am the Overseer of Vault 81. You said you are a vault tech doctor?” She stated.   
“No, I’m a vault dweller and a doctor. I didn’t work for vault tech, but I think I can help your sick child.” I corrected.   
“Good. Keep your weapons holstered and come in.”   
“BUT OVERSEER!”   
“Shut up.” 

The cave entrance rumbled and little pebbles broke from the ceiling as the vault door groaned to life. It moved painfully slow, just as the catwalk did. Ahead of us was a plump redhead woman and two armed guards, whose guns were trained on us. 

She greeted us as we walked in, “Hello there, I am Gwen McNamara. This here is my chief of security, Scott Edwards.”   
“A pleasure. I am Dr. Olivia Najera Navarro. What is troubling the child?” I tightened my hand on my medical bag while extending the other for a handshake.   
“And your friend?” Gwen raised an eyebrow.  
“Oh yes, this is Robert MacCready.” I put a hand on his shoulder.   
“Hey.” MacCready said.   
“The child is Austin, he was bitten by a mole rate and now he has a fever that won’t go down.” 

Gwen led me hastently to their medical center where Dr. Foresythe begrudgingly went through the medical records for Austin with me. I took a look at the boy myself. His ginger hair was flat to his face, sweat pouring from him. His little arm was bruised were his IV catheter was inserted. The site of the bite, his left leg, was infected. His skin gnarled purple and red, his veins raised and unnatural. 

“Have you tried antibiotics?” I asked the doctor, getting a huff in response.   
“Like we have any antibiotics here. Why don’t you ask me for a unicorn too.” Foresythe snipped.   
“Well good thing for Austin, I kept a stock in my safe.” I mumbled to myself, grabbing a bottle of broad spectrum antibiotic cream from my bag. The doctor’s eyes went wide as I spread it over the infected area.   
“Where did you get that? We’ve been out since I was a kid.” He asked.   
“I was a vault dweller too, remember?” I twisted my truth. I had the feeling I shouldn’t tell anyone here that I’m over 200 years old. There was a weird vibe to the place that made my skin crawl.   
“Hey Olivia, I need to talk to you when you got a sec.” MacCready said from the corner, looking around nervously.   
“Sure thing, one moment.” I replied, washing my hands of the cream and giving the boy’s heart a listen. The stethoscope was a welcomed cool sensation. MacCready eyed the device. I put it away and walked over to him, out of earshot from the others in the room.   
“We gotta get out of here soon. The locals aren’t too happy about us being here. If they were to get hostile I...well I couldn’t,” MacCready rubbed the back of his head, “I wouldn’t be able to protect you from all of them.” He gripped my arm, “Please hurry up here.”   
“I promise I’m working as fast as I can.” I placed a hand on the one he held me with, causing him to release me. I made my way back to the doctor. “This isn’t going to be enough, it’ll just buy him some more time while we figure out what is wrong. This goes beyond an infection, it’s downright unnatural.”   
“Clearly. I think-“ The Doctor was cut off by a lanky man running into the room.  
“I know where that mole rat was. Maybe that’ll help?” The man said.   
“It could, where is this mole rat?” I asked.   
“Bobby, what did you do?” Gwen sternly questioned.   
“It’s my fault, but I didn’t know he was watching me. There’s this whole in the wall were I keep my, uh, secret things. I didn’t know there was rats in it, honest.” The man began to rub his arms in a manner characteristic of an addict.   
“Take me there.” I replied, reaching into my bag for my last addictol. I had to wiggle through the empty jet containers to find it at the bottom of the bag. I handed it to him as we headed out the door.   
“How did you-?” He started.   
“I’m a doctor, don’t worry though. I’m not judging you, just trying to help. One of my friends just recently went through treatment for every chem you can imagine.” I replied.   
“Wow, they’re lucky to have you. Here it is.” Bobby led us down a set of steps to a reaction room. “I keep my things here.” He revealed and opening in the vault wall by moving a sheet of metal. “If you find anything to help Austin, please bring it back out with you. If anything happens to him...I’ll be kicked out and left for dead.”   
“Of course.” I stated, making my way into the wall. MacCready followed closely.   
…

“So MacCready,” I started while we walked through the dank area, “What was bothering you back there?”   
“I heard some whispering while you were treating Austin.” MacCready tripped over a rock, “Dang it.” I laughed. “They were talking about how the Overseer shouldn’t have let us in. How they should just overthrow her and seal the vault again.”   
“So you’re worried they may get violent with us?” I asked.   
“Yeah. I just want to leave.” He replied.   
“We will- wait. You hear that?” I held a hand up, listening for the rustle I just heard. 

Rustling came from around us and I caught a glimpse of a shadow cutting across the room. It was about the size of a large dog. Chattering filled the hallway and the dirt on the ground began to shake. 

“MOLE RATS!” MacCready yelled as a giant mutated, pink monster jumped straight out the ground at him. MacCready fell on his back, clutching is rifle. The beast was on top of him and the only thing keeping its teeth from his face was the barrel of his gun, shoved between them. I aimed my pistol to the mole rat, but before   
I could get a shot in another rat made an appearance. This one was skinnier and mangy. It ran toward me, avoiding all my shots with a bouncy zig zag approach. It dug its incisors into my left leg, hitting bone. The sound that came out of my mouth was inhuman. MacCready called out to me. I emptied my clip into the mole rats head, firing rounds long after it was dead. I turned to MacCready, my leg giving out from under me at the motion. I fired two rounds into its side, giving MacCready a chance to pick himself up and fire into the rat’s skull. The gore that followed our fight was seeping into the dirt, staining it red. I was on the ground, frantically digging bandages out of my bag. 

“Olivia.” MacCready called to me, rushing to my side. His face turned pale at the sight of my leg, oozing blood out of a deep wound. I knew that I must of had bone exposed, but that would have to wait.   
“MacCready, I need you to take this belt and tie it around my thigh really tight. We need to stop the bleeding.” I replied.  
“Of course.” MacCready did as instructed, turning his face away from the wound.   
“Thank you. Now let me pack and wrap this thing. I think I can still walk.” I said, pulling out a super stimpak that I kept with me after my last near death event. I injected the needle into the torn flesh and grimaced as the muscle overlaying my bone wove itself back together. The immediate danger was over, and hopefully I won’t have a bone infection later. I still had muscle exposed at the site of injury. I wrapped several layers of gauze around the wound and popped a buffout for the pain.   
“We should go back and get you help.” MacCready stated.   
“No. We’re so close to finding the answer to Austin’s illness. I can feel it.” I responded, standing on wobbly feet.   
“Olivia this is insane,” He started as I moved on, “there’s bound to be more of those things running around. Austin probably caught something from them.”   
“It won’t take much longer, the bleeding has stopped for now so lets get a move on.” I replied.   
“You’re being so dang stubborn.” MacCready stepped in front of me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Look, I couldn’t save Lucy, don’t make me lose you too.”   
“You won’t.” I placed a hand on his extended arm and smiled. “Now let’s go.” 

We made it into a room with piles of filth and cages. In a working terminal I found records of experiments that made my stomach turn. They were going to let these people turn on eachother and release the virus the rats were carrying. MacCready was stalking around looking into each cage. A mole rat carcass was in one, half eaten by its companions. There were food and water bowls lying about. Needles, test tubes, and broken glass scattered haphazardly on the floor. 

“MacCready, it’s a virus that Vault Tech made. They were going to give it to all these people.” I said to him.   
“I can’t say I’m surprised by anything Vault tech does anymore.” He replied.   
“This was all a big lab, so there must be records of the virus or a cure here.” I continued, feeling confident.   
“I think we should just run back into the vault. I got a bad feeling about this.” He responded, eyeing a human skeleton buried into feces.   
“We’ll be okay Mac-“ I was cut off by loud hiss and a flash of a mole rat digging into a burrow.   
“I told you.” MacCready pushed me into the largest cage that had a concerted floor. “They can’t dig through this. Aim out.” He pulled his rifle up, watching ahead.   
“I’m sorry MacCready, I just-“   
“I know.” He interrupted. “Just don’t die here.” He glanced at me. I nodded and aimed my pistol out. 

I could see the topsoil shifting as the rat dug toward us. Two more shapes dug into the ground. All three were nearly on us. The first to emerge was taken out by MacCready in one hit. The second I managed to cripple nd MAcCready finished. He was such a damn good shot. The third didn’t pop up, it just disappeared. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and feel the buffout wearing off. I looked down at my leg, which was starting to slowly bleed again. I felt hot, too hot. The adrenaline was kicking in late. 

“Are you okay?” MacCready asked me, not taking his eyes off of his sights.   
“Yeah, I just need another stimpack and some more buffout.” I replied.   
“Do you have it?” The concern in his voice was very audible.   
“I’m out of buffout, but I do have some Jet that could relax the nerves.” I glanced at my bag, knowing that I took out my second bottle of buffout to make room for more jet.   
“Go ahead and use it, I’ll keep watch.” He said.   
“I can wait until we get that last one.” I replied, 

We stood there waiting for what felt like hours, although it was only minutes. I heard some rubble hit the concrete, turning in time to see a bloated purple mole rat jump out from the wall. I shoved MacCready to the ground, scrambling to get my combat knife. My pistol had scattered and slid across the floor, out of reach. The purple one dug a claw into my back, earning a scream as I flipped over and stabbed my knife into her side. MacCready tackled the beast off of me and slashed his switchblade into its face. Before it could bite into him, I pulled him back off of it. I landed punch into its face, my knuckles cracking at the impact. It seemed to have stunned the beast long enough for me to get ahold of the handle of my blade, and drag it to the front. It screamed at me and clawed at my arm. The only thing that prevented me from losing my arm was the leather pads that now laid on the floor, broken. As the mole rat opened its mouth toward my face, I shoved my hand into it. The tip of my blade made contact with the roof of its mouth, forcing it backwards in pain. It’s head then exploded into a gory mess, splattering myself and the walls. I felt my stomach turn as MacCready offered me a hand. 

“Nice shot.” I said, wiping my face with my sleeve.   
“Nice punch.” MacCready laughed.   
“That must have been their brood mother. Poor thing.” I commented, looking at what was left of the rat.   
“Poor it? Poor us.” MacCready looked at my leg and to his ripped duster.   
“We’ll be okay.” I smiled, trying to ignore the burning sensation in my leg. We moved on from the cages to the last room of the secret vault.   
“Hey, is that a robot?” MacCready asked


	42. The Cure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curie and Diamond City

“That is a robot. A Curie at that rate. She should be able to patch me up!” I announced, wobbling to the glass.   
“Are you from Vault Tech?” A French voice came from the robot.   
“No, but we need your help. Do you know about the virus in the rats?” I asked.   
“I can only answer to a vault tech representative on matters of vault tech proprietary information.” It replied.   
“I’m from vault tech.” MacCready called out. “Tell me how your duties are, uh, going.”   
“Excellent. Ze cure for the mole rat virus was finished by me, but there was only enough to make one vial of it.” The white, rotundus robot responded.   
“Good, get it for...get it for Austin.” I began to feel woozy.   
“Is madam okay?” Curie asked.   
“Olivia?” MacCready questioned. 

I felt the world spinning around me, my feet kicking up on their own. The burning sensation had made its way to my stomach, making me hurl onto what I assume was the ground. I couldn’t see anything but stars. The sweat that had been collecting on my brow ran down my face, the last feeling I had before blacking out. 

…

I woke up to Dr. Foresythe’s flashlight swinging in front of my eyes. I blinked hard against his finger that kept my eyelid open.   
“Ah you’re awake.” He said, surprised.   
“Not look so surprised doc, I’ve been through worse.” I coughed. My leg was still burning. “How bad is my leg?”   
“You’ll keep it, so long as you don’t die from the fever you have.” He answered.   
“It’s a virus, Curie! Where did she go, she has the cure-“   
“I am here madam! Ze boy Austin is cured. I’m making you a dose too, but I’m missing an ingredient.” The robot appeared from behind my bed.   
“What do you need?” I asked.   
“I need a hydrofluoroalkane inhaler to administer ze medication.” She replied.   
“I have some in my bag. MacCready, can you grab one?” He walked to the end of my bed, reaching inside then pausing. He must have felt all the bottles there. He grabbed one and handed it to Curie, who then proceeded to remove the canister and replace it with the dose of the antiviral medication. It tasted of berries and alcohol. “Ze medicine will work immediately.” The robot proclaimed. I felt rather faint, and fell asleep. 

…

“Hey Olivia.” MacCready gently shook me awake. I was still in the medical bay. “Are you feeling okay enough to walk?”   
I took a moment to gather my senses, “I think so. What’s wrong?”   
“Even though you saved Austin, these vaulters don’t like us being here. They don’t even like Curie. We need to leave as soon as you can walk.” I looked at my leg, still bandaged. MacCready brushed some hair from my face, “Is there a reason you had so much jet on you?”   
“It’s easier to find than most other chems.” I lied.   
“I’m not so sure about that, but okay. Let’s get you up on your feet.” MacCready wrapped an arm around me, propping me up. My bare feet were cold against the tile floor. I shivered at the touch. My leg protested at the weight bearing down on it. I could feel it wobble and strain. I shouldn’t be up on it yet, but I wanted to get MacCready out of here.   
“Where is Curie?” I asked, supporting myself on MacCready, who was helping me get dressed.   
“She’s at the entrance waiting for us. She said something about wanting to study the world. Must be on the fritz.” He replied. “Now let’s go.” 

…

We left the vault without saying goodbye to Gwen, who I’m sure would reach out to me again if they needed something. I’m still not entirely sure what MacCready’s problem there was, but I would have to come back. I never got the chance to look at that hydroponic garden. With Curies medical help, we made it back to Diamond city before the end of the night. Curie was able to detect body heat signatures, which allowed us to hide and avoid enemies. 

“Where do you want to go?” MacCready asked, letting me lean on his shoulder.   
“Let’s go to Nick’s. I don’t want to wobble in the Inn and have everyone upset.” I answered.   
“Alright then.”   
“Hold it right there!” Piper yelled, drawing the guard’s attention, “It’s been, what months? You’ve been in and out of the city but never came back for that interview!” Her face was red.   
“Oh I’m sorry Piper, I kept getting caught up in other things.” I smiled.   
“Well if you’re actually sorry then you’ll come into my office and finish it.” She huffed, arms folded.   
“Alright. MacCready, why don’t you go to the inn for the night. Curie, you can wait for me outside.” MacCready nodded and head for the Dugout. Curie settled her frame on the ground outside of Piper's home, observing the night life of the city.   
“So what’s wrong with your leg?” She pointed at the bandaging.   
“Mole rat in vault 81. Bit to the bone the bastard did.” I winced as I sat on the couch in front of her desk.   
“You actually got in? Oh you have to take me, I could get some great quotes.” She replied.   
“I’m sure, they seemed quite...xenophobic.” I responded.   
“So, this will be the second volume of our story of the century.” She took out a pencil and a notepad, “Now that you’ve been wandering the wastes for over a year, what advice would you give those who want to go and adventure out of the city?”   
I adjusted myself in the seat, “I would tell them to seriously reconsider. I’ve seen a lot, been through a lot myself, and if I could make Shawn appear in front of me now I would keep him safe in Diamond city. If you still are set on going out, make friends. You won’t get anywhere but in the ground if you don’t have people supporting you. I have made more friends now than I have my entire life. It’s really the last place I would have expected it too.”   
“And how should one go about making friends?” She questioned.   
“Just be kind and help out where you can. A smile and a greeting won’t go far these days, but an act of generosity will win over even the coldest of hearts.” I replied.   
“For my last question, how is the search for baby Shaun?” She questioned. I froze. “Olivia?”   
“Shaun has been taken by the Institute. I might have a way in, and I’m going to take it. I’m going to make those bastards pay.” I blurted out.   
“Thank you Olivia, that’ll wrap it up. I expect some retailing of some of the adventures you have had, I want you to be my star of the paper from here on out. Everyone wants to keep up with you here in the city.” Piper said.   
“Really? Who?” I asked.   
“Literally everyone, even the mayor! He doesn’t know I know that he reads my paper though, so keep that between us. Yefim comes by every week to see if I have news. Oh, and Travis has been keeping tabs on you.” She answered.   
“On air?” I said, shocked.   
“You haven’t been listening to the radio huh? Yeah, words of your good deeds spread fast here.” She continued.   
“Guess I need to take my station off of classical now. Thanks Piper.” I stood up, ready to leave.   
“Wait a second, I want to go out with you.” She said.   
“Really? Don’t you think you should get to know me some more?” My brows furrowed.   
“What, no!” Piper’s cheeks became red, “I meant out wandering with you.”   
“Oh, sure. I’ll have to let MacCready know though. We’ll have Curie with us too.” I explained.  
“No problem.” 

…

“Olivia? What happened now?” Nick ran to my side, scooping me up into his arms and placing me on his bed. I had stumbled into his office, my leg giving out on me last minute. I started sweating on my way over too, so I had to look a mess now.   
“I’m okay, healing up from a mole rat bite.” I pointed to my bandaged leg.   
“Why do these things keep happening when I’m not with you.” Nick started shuffling around for a blanket and food, “You need me to come back with you.”   
I took the food gratefully, “I’m still not ready for that Nicky. Plus, I had the sharpest eye in the Commonwealth with me and I still got hurt. It would have happened with anyone really.” I defended.   
“Olivia, I...I’ve missed you.” His yellow eyes glowed faintly on my face.   
“I miss you too Nick, but I still need time.” I replied.   
“Then why did you come here?” He asked.   
“To see you and to not see Yefim. I think he’d have a heart attack if he saw me bandaged up like this.” I looked to my left leg, thinking about the scar on my face.   
“So it’s really about Yefim.” He turned from me.  
I grabbed his arm, “No. I wanted to see you too. I really have missed you, and I want to slowly get back to how we were.”   
“I want that too.” He looked back to me, running a hand through my hair. He motioned to kiss my lips and I didn’t stop him. 

Without saying a word, Nick joined me on the bed, holding my face in his metallic hand and my waist in the other. He kept his lips on mine, tracing the length of my spine. I broke the kiss as he began to unzip my vault suit. He froze, looking to me for a reason to stop. 

“I don’t think I can-“ He cut me off with a more passionate kiss. Nick moved his weight on me, making me lay onto the bed. For a moment I began to panic, thinking back to the Zone, but he stopped there. 

“I understand. Let’s cuddle?” He offered, rolling beside me. I accepted, letting myself drift off to the weight of his arm over me. 

…

I woke up that morning to a note from Nick saying he had to leave to see a client, not to wait up for him. I got myself dressed into my more comfortable outfit, my trusty blouse and jeans. I would have to keep an eye out for the first half decent top I can find. This sheer one was leaving little to the imagination, but it was too warm out for my flannel. I finished eating the bread Nick gave me last night for breakfast and headed out the door. Curie was waiting outside, frantically telling me about all the people and iterations she witnessed before I woke up. 

“And zhen I saw a man get taken upon by three other men. Zhey took his money and hit his head. Surely he has a concussion, but I saw him out in zhe streets moments later. It was fascinating!” She began.   
“So someone gets jumped outside and your first thoughts are, “this is fascinating?” I sighed as the robot bobbed up and down. “You know you could get plenty of human experience if you didn’t have a robot body. People don’t act the same in front of machines, as they would in front of other people.”   
“Zhat is a wonderful idea! Where can I get a body?” She flew close to me as I made my way to the Dugout, my bandages covered by my jeans.   
“Woah there, I don’t know. I guess Dr. Amari might know. I’ll take you to her when I have more time, promise.”   
“You have my thanks.” She replied. 

I entered the bar and saw the usual patrons drinking first thing in the morning. Vadim ran over to hug me, then to go retrieve Yefim. Apparently Yefim finally took my advice and started taking time off. Yefim was happy as ever to see me. 

“Plamya!” He called me, rushing over and planting a kiss on my lips. Vadim clapped at the public display of affection and I felt embarrassed remembering the dream I had about the two, or rather how much I enjoyed said dream. I kept the catching up short this time, eager to head out.

MacCready went with me to the mayor’s office about a piece of property available. I figured buying a house here would be best for myself and Shaun. Diamond city was the best place to raise a child here. Two thousand caps nearly wiped out my savings, but it would be worth i

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new house in a place full of lovers and sexual tension? Don’t mind if we do.


	43. Wooden Soldiers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡ಥ ͜ʖ ͡ಥ)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is more plot coming, but for now enjoy the kink of our lanky boi.

I used my newly bought keys to open up the door of home plate. The building was a little dusty, but not too bad given that it had been for sale for over a year. There was a bed on the upper floor, a workstation and supplies in the front room, and random objects in the back. The lights still worked, illuminating everything. 

MacCready whistled. “Not bad.”  
“Yeah, I’m glad I saved up the caps for it. Now I don’t have to keep using the inn or crashing on Nick’s bed.” I smiled.  
“Nick’s bed?” He questioned.  
“Yeah being a robotic synth, Nick doesn’t need a bed. Sometimes I like the change of scenery from the inn. I should visit Vadim and Yefim while I’m here.” I replied. “Say, MacCready?”  
“What is it?” He responded.  
“Do you want to talk about what happened in Med-Tek?” I asked.  
“What is there to say?” He replied.  
“Well you kissed me, then I kissed you. It was a whole thing.” I joked.  
“I got caught up in the moment. It was nice, more than nice, but I don’t think I can go beyond that. Lucy’s death is still so fresh, I don’t think I can really move on from her.” He confessed.  
“You never really get over a lost spouse, but it’s possible to move on.” I took MacCready’s hands into mine. “I’m proof that your love life doesn’t have to stop with the death of a loved one.”  
“How do you do it? Lucky has been dead for over nine years and I haven’t...ya know, with anyone.” He looked to me.  
“I don’t know how to explain it well. Everyone is different and morns in their own ways. For me, it was deciding I wanted to be happy again. I knew Nate wouldn’t want me just mopping and losing that part of living. Do you think Lucy would want for you?” I said.  
“I never really thought of it. I know that she wouldn’t want me just sitting around feeling sorry for myself.” He replied.  
“Good. Now it’s up to you to decide what direction you want to take that. I’m not trying to pressure you to start having sex again though. It could be something you enjoy, like shooting things.” I said.  
“I do miss sex, but it just feels so wrong. I don’t know how to not think about Lucy if I tried it.” He looked down to the ground.  
“Do you want to talk about her?” I offered.  
“Hey. Here you are offering me a shoulder to lean on. Just like Lucy did. You have all the problems of the world on your back, yet you still took the time to help me. Some washed up mercenary that couldn’t save his wife from some ferals.” He took his hands from mine and reached in his pocket. In my hands he placed a small, wooden toy soldier. “I want you to have this.”  
“Aw, did you make this?” I asked.  
“Yeah, because I look so artistic. No Lucy made it for me. When we met, it was love at first sight. I didn’t have the guts to tell her I was some hired gun, so I lied and told her I was a soldier.” He looked back to the ground, “I never told her the truth, and she died knowing a lie.”  
“It’s okay MacCready, you had good intentions. I’m sure she wouldn’t have left you for it.” I assured him.  
“I had a feeling you would understand where I was coming from.” He smiled up at me, “She made me this after I told her I was a soldier. I wanted you to have it, as a thank you for helping Ducan. I could have never saved him without you.”  
“I’m sure you would have found another way.” I blushed.  
“How you stay so humble, I’ll never know. I want to...ah. Let me start again. I want more than a friendship with you.” MacCready said.  
“I would like that.” I agreed.  
“But don’t you still love your husband? I know he’s gone, but he was still married to you.” He asked.  
“I will always love Nate, but I have room in my heart to love others too. You see I have...relationships...with a few people. I’m in the phase of moving on where I can physically be with people, but I’m not ready to give myself to someone, heart and soul.” I explained.  
“That makes sense. I think I’m ready to move there too.” He responded.  
“Do my relationships bother you?” I questioned.  
“No. It’s pretty normal here to have multiple partners, and I’m not looking for a real relationship right now. We’re two sides of the same coin.” He said.  
“Does that mean…?”  
“Yes.” 

MacCready stepped toward me, lifting my chin with a curled finger. He kissed my forehead, then moved to my lips. We stood in the room locked together, wrapping our arms around each other. For two people that didn’t want a relationship, we were being very soft. 

“You had me so worried in that vault.” He muttered into my neck, pulling me into him.  
“I’m sorry.” I replied, tracing my hands up his back.  
“I know.” He said, biting at my skin. He must intend to leave a mark.  
“Come to bed?” I asked him.  
“I thought you’d never ask.” 

…

MacCready removed his duster when we went up the wooden stairs, leaving it on the steps. He was already removing his boots by the time I sat down on the edge of the queen sized bed. He crawled onto the bed, positioning himself behind me. He trailed kisses down my neck and onto my now exposed shoulder. I had unbuttoned part of my blouse, letting it fall off of me. My breasts were exposed to the cool air, forcing the skin on my areolas to tighten. MacCready cupped them in both hands, moaning into my neck. I breathed heavily at his kneading. He moved one hand from my breast to my neck, sensually rubbing it with the tips of his fingers. 

“Squeeze it.” I spoke to him. 

MacCready obliged, gently applying pressure to my neck. I felt myself flood at the sensation, calling out his name quietly. He moved the other hand down my stomach and into my pants, pressing his fingers to my mound. I jolted into him, leaning my head back onto his shoulder. He inserted his index finger in me, curling it to press against my pubic bone. His long digits were good for more than just pulling triggers. 

I rolled my hips to match his movements, moaning for him not to stop. He pushed another finger into me, sending heat from my sex to my face. I could feel myself blushing. I reached a had behind me to pet his erection. It was just enough to make him thrust toward me. We kept at this for a few minutes before I came into his hands. He withdrew from my pants, licking the slick substance from his fingers. Seeing him looking at me with those big blue eyes staring at me while doing something so dirty sent me over the edge. 

I finished undressing myself and MacCready followed suit. He was lanky, sure, but that didn’t me he wasn’t muscular. He was lean, his skin tight over his six pack. I let my eyes wander down to the v leading to his erection. He was taking in the sight of me too. His eyes were wide, tracing me up and down. MacCready was the first to make a move, crawling over me. I leaned into the bed and let him stay on top. 

He kissed me again, pushing me legs open with his thighs. I felt the air on my sex, which was anticipating his next move. MacCready bottomed out in the first thrust, having done an excellent job getting me warmed up. He groaned, losing some of his grip on the bed. I couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to finally be with a woman after so many years. He kept a painfully slow rhythm, like he was trying to test himself out. His eyes stayed locked on my as he thrusted, breathing heavy at holding back. 

“You won’t break me.” I teased.  
“I’m might try.” He winked at me, picking up the pace. 

MacCready was rutting into me now, pulling at my hair as I asked him to. I thrusted upward to make our hips meet with each push. I could hear the sound of clapping from the exertion. I found it hard not to giggle every time his balls brushed my ass. MacCready was huffing my name out, shaking a bit. He was so close, but I knew he was holding out to get me another orgasm. Luckily for him I was close. 

“Bite my ear.” I instructed, enjoying the feeling when he followed my order. 

I wrapped my legs around his waist, tilting myself at an angle to let him even deeper in. He didn’t last at that, cumming too quickly to withdraw. 

“Oh no, I’m so sorry.” He said, frantically searching for a towel after withdrawing.  
“It’s okay MacCready.” I said, taking the towel from his hands.  
“What if you get pregnant?” He began to panic.  
“It probably won’t happen.” I said, thinking of how damaged the semen of wastelanders must be from all the radiation.  
“You sure? Aren’t you worried?” He asked.  
“No.” I said, cupping my hands to his face. “I’m not worried. You did nothing wrong.”  
“That’s not what I would say.” Nick’s voice grumbled from the first floor.  
“NICK?” I hollered. “What are you-how did you-“  
“You forgot to lock the door. Guess it’s better that it was me and not Yefim who came to see you first huh.” Nick continued, looking at the door.  
“Yefim is one of your-?” MacCready started.  
“So am I.” Nick interrupted.  
“Wait, how does that work?” MacCready looked to me.  
“It’s...complicated.” I admitted.  
“Did she mentions that she has a taste for ghoul too? Or did she leave that out too?” Nick asked.  
“Nick. Get out.” I commanded, “Why the Hell would you just watch us?”  
“That is pretty creepy Nick.” MacCready added.  
“I only came in to give you a house warming gift, but I guess you already had plans for that. I’ll leave you two be.” Nick walked out the door, placing a vase full of carrot and tomato flowers at the door.  
“So…” MacCready started.  
“So.” I sighed. “Nick and I have a relationship that is more complicated than my other partners.”  
“And that’s because he doesn’t have a…” He trailed.  
“A dick. Yeah, that’s part of it. Although that’s not all of it since I’m not exclusively with men.” MacCready’s eyebrows met his hairline. “Nick and I had some feelings, or at least I did, and he shot me down. Now he has been rather...possessive. I don’t think he can keep up the open part of our relationship.”  
“So let me get this straight, you caught feelings for a robot?” MacCready looked at me, still naked.  
“He’s a synth, not a robot like a Mr. Handy.” I defended.  
“I’m sure you could call him your Mr. Handy huh?” MacCready laughed.  
“Well, I’m glad you find this humorous rather than upsetting.” I said, relieved.  
“It’s hard to be mad when you just had sex with the most beautiful woman wandering the Commonwealth.” He grinned. “Why don’t I go lock that door and show you what I can really do?”  
“Good question, why don’t you?” I winked.


	44. Deadclaw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Setting up the next arc of the story with a little action between the dryness.

MacCready and I were having power noodles together after our tumble. He kept looking at me with puppy dog eyes, which gave my concern that he was going to become too attached too quickly. He already paid for my noodles and a nuka cola, even though I protested. I don’t want him to become like Nick and start getting jealous. It was normal in this time to take multiple lovers anyways, so I might as well take advantage of it. I really don’t know what Nick wants anymore. He likes being with me physically, but when I tried to stay close to him he just ran away. He acts scared of his own feelings. Hancock at least understands his place. I could stand another round of him soon. Vadim definitely was attached to me, but I think I’m rather attached to him too. He is a lot like Nate was, which is why I am avoiding him now. Nate has been on my mind a lot now. 

As I was thinking to myself, MacCready alerted me to a suspicious man approaching us. He was wearing sunglasses that hid his eyes and a flannel top that was too big for him. A beanie covered his hair, yet something about him looked familiar. I don’t think I knew anyone that would dress in such a way to hide his idenity, assuming it was a man by the way he walked. The man sat one seat away from me and ordered a nuka cola. 

“Psht.” He directed his attention to me. “It’s me.” I recognized the voice as Deacon.   
“Are we supposed to speak in code?” I whispered back.   
“Only if you want a secret phrase.” He replied.   
“Ooooo, can it be ‘the crow flies at midnight’?” I laughed.   
“Awesome. Anyways, we need your help at HQ. Something bad went down at a safehouse and I need your help. There are synths everywhere.” His tone turned serious.   
“Of course, but I thought you had Glory for these kinds of missions.” I blushed thinking of her.   
“Normally, yes. She is occupied with another mission and our other agents aren’t suited for this kind of party.” He replied.   
“Wait, who is this?” MacCready cut in.   
“Oh this is-“  
“Robert. Nice to meet you.” Deacon extended his hand.   
“How do you know my name?” He looked at the extended hand.   
“Aside from hearing Olivia yelling it over and over about an hour ago? It’s my job to know things. I’m Deacon.” He withdrew his hand. I could feel my face getting very warm. I didn’t think about how thin those metal walls are.  
“Anyways, what’s the deal with the house?” I continued.   
“I’ll tell you more on the way to HQ. Go pack your bags.” Deacon said.   
“Alright, just let me tell Nick and Yefim I’m headed out.” 

…

“And the Glory said you-”  
“Ay! I was there.” I cut Deacon’s story short.   
“Wait I need to hear the end of this.” MacCready grinned.   
“No, you don’t. Has Glory really been going around telling everyone about us?” I asked.   
“Yea she’s a talker. She’s been using it as ammunition against Carrington’s personality.” Deacon answered.   
“Well, I’m embarrassed.” I put my face between my hands, looking downward to the red line of the freedom trail.   
“This has you embarrassed? And not the fact you blurted to the entire crew that you slept with a ghoul and a synth?” Deacon questioned.   
“I can’t believe you would just say that out loud in front of people.” MacCready laughed, pausing his walking to lean over.   
“Well I had a gun in my face.” I defended, “what else could I do? Stop laughing it’s not...funny…” My voice trailed off to silence and every fiber in my body stopped moving. MacCready and Deacon’s laughing had stopped and we all faced the same problem. A.Fucking.Deathclaw. 

It laid out in the open, probably injured or sick to not be in hiding while asleep. Maybe it needed to sunbathe? Either way, we were going to be fucked if it woke up right now. What was a Deathclaw even doing so close to all these buildings?MacCready silently drew his rifle and aimed at its head, ready for my mark. 

“We can’t take him.” I whispered to him.   
“You’ve handled Deathclaw before.” Deacon offered.   
“In power armor!” I whisper-yelled.   
“Well you got us two.” MacCready said.   
“Since when do you care about taking on a Claw? You normally sneak around them.” I looked to MacCready.   
“This one is so close to Goodneighboor though.” He replied.   
“Fine, but we go for high ground.” I conceded, slowly making my way to the nearest building and climbing into its broken window. 

The glass crackled, sending alarms off in my head. Thankfully the beast outside still slumbered. I set my rifle on the window and aimed at the creature’s closed eyes. MacCready was across the street, also getting himself ready. Deacon had climbed up some rocks, probably hoping that the deathclaw can’t jump well. I wasn’t sure how well his pipe rifle was going to work against the beast, but so long as it doesn’t get him killed I’m okay with it. 

MacCready gave a thumbs up and Deacon a head nod. With a deep breath, I pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through the air and hit its mark. The deathclaw’s eye burst, sending blood spurting through the air. MacCready’s shot hit the left leg in the calf. It would be crippled and half blind now. Deacon was firing away with his rifle, shots spraying its body. The deathclaw shot up in the air, its ear-shattering roar hitting us all in the chest. It immediately began to hobble toward Deacon, making it a great shot for myself and MacCready. I switched over to my trusty 10 mm. I fired at its legs in an attempt to cripple the right one. MacCready kept his aim on its back, the beast grunting with each round that burrowed in its hide. 

Deacon stopped firing suddenly and reached into his bag. I barely had time to hit the ground as he pulled out and threw plasma grenade. The sound was deafening and the green light of the plasma shined in the air. I could feel the air grow hot, even from on the floor. If I hadn’t seen the grenade coming, I’m not sure I would be alive right now. 

I peeked up over the window, my stomach turning at the sight. The deathclaw was clawing around the ground like it was searching for something. Its legs were dissolved, the air smelling of the melted flesh and bones. I felt bad for it as I couldn't even imagine the pain it was in. I looked over to where MacCready was, he too was watching the beast with wide eyes. I couldn’t take its cries and whimpers, quickly getting to my feet and heading over to it. The deathclaw tried swinging its claws at me, but I kept a safe distance. There were pools of blood coming out of its stumps, ear holes, and mouth. This sight would be in my nightmares. I pulled out my rifle and shot one round into its head, the movement stopping. I knew killing this monster was for the best, but like that it just felt wrong. 

…

“Deacon, what are you doing here with them?” Desdemona snapped at Deacon.   
“Good to see you too Des.” Deacon replied, “I brought Olivia back to help with Switchboard.”   
“And why is there an unknown man with her? We have rules for a reason Deacon.” She responded, the rifle pointed to MacCready.   
“You’d put that rifle down if you know what’s good for you.” MacCready threatened.   
“Give me one reason not to end you now.” She countered.   
“Because then I’d have to kill you.” I replied, stepping between MacCready and the rifle. “And if I were to die at the hands of the Railroad, there would be two factions raining down hell on you. Now we’re here to help, but I have no problem leaving you to your own demise.” Desdemona had no immediate response.   
“Everyone calm down.” Deacon pleaded with his hands up in the air, “I brought her because we need her. I want her to be an official member.”  
“What? No.” She replied.   
“Wait, what?” I asked.   
“We need you Olivia. I’m sponsoring her.” Deacon looked defiantly at Desdemona.   
“You need more than one sponsor, and I’m not doing it.” She replied.   
“I’ll do it.” Carrington appeared from around the corner, staring at me.   
“Carrington?” Desdemona said in surprise.   
“I need her to help Deacon retrieve my prototype, and she has proven herself a capable woman. At least if half of those radio reports are true.” He replied.   
“Oh she twice as capable.” MacCready moved from behind me. Carrington eyed him.   
“If you both sponsor her...I can’t stop you. Watch yourself.” Desdemona turned and walked away from us.   
“So, you’re a member. Now you need a nickname.” Deacon chimed in.   
“A nickname? What’s wrong with just using my real name.” I questioned.   
“It’s for your safety.” Carrington answered, “Glory isn’t glory’s real name. We have drummer boy here,” He pointed to a man in a newscap in the corner, “So, what would you like to be called?”   
“Any suggestions?” I asked to all three men.   
“You have to pick it yourself.” Deacon said. “Think about character traits, what you’re good at.”   
“I’ll need time to think about it. Why don’t you guys go over the plan with me?”   
…

“Alright so get to switchboard, find the tourist, get the intel, make a plan of attack, bust some chrome ass, and get the prototype?” I asked.   
“That’s it.” Deacon agreed.   
“Shouldn’t be too hard.” MacCready chimed in.   
“I think you need more people for this mission.” Carrington said, “It’s bound to be very dangerous.”   
“Ah don’t tell me you’re getting soft on us because Olivia is here.” Deacon teased.   
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He replied.   
“Oh we all noticed how you suddenly started listening to Diamond City radio since she left.” Deacon pushed.   
“It was for research on the stranger you brought to our doorstep.” He defended himself  
“Stop picking at him.” I told Deacon. Carrington began to blush.  
“Oh so you like Olivia.” MacCready announced.  
“Robert!” I smacked his arm.   
“Ouch! What?” He responded.   
“You can’t just blurt stuff like that out.” I scolded him.  
“Why not? Plenty of men like you.” MacCready countered.  
“So is the word.” Deacon added.  
“Just bring me back my prototype.” Carrington threw his hands up in exacerbation and walked away.  
“Why do y’all tease him like that?” I questioned, standing to my feet.   
“News flash Olivia, he’s kind of an asshole.” Deacon answered.   
“Still. I’m going to go talk to him, he looked upset.” I announced as I followed Carrington’s trail. Deacon and MacCready enjoyed chatting while I was away. 

I followed Carrington to a back room that led to a secret escape route. Mattresses lined the hallway. His white lab coat was a sharp contrast to the dingy hall. He stood about eight inches taller than me, rather short compared to the men I’ve been with. His hair, like Dr. Sun’s, reminded me of Nate’s. From behind in this dim lighting, he looked like him. 

“Hey Carrington?” I startled him as he jumped and turned heel.   
“Yes Olivia?” He replied, cold.   
“I’m sorry about MacCready and Deacon.” I continued, “I know they’re just kidding around, but you seemed upset.”  
“They weren’t wrong.” He sighed.   
“Pardon?”   
“I said they aren’t wrong. I have been fascinated with you since you walked in here.” He admitted.   
“With me? Why?” I questioned.   
“You are a woman out of time. A successful, resourceful, and intelligent woman. You’re...you are…” He trailed off, struggling to finish the sentence.   
I reached a hand to his arm, “Take your time.”   
“You’re astonishing and I find myself jealous of Glory.” He put a hand to my face.   
“You know Glory and I aren’t...we aren’t a thing. That was a one night stand that she seems to be boasting about to everyone.” I clarified.   
“So you two are not romantic?” He piped up.   
“No. The only relationships I’m in are open.” I replied.   
“I’m glad to hear that.” His hand still lingered for a few moments realizing how awkward the position was and removed it. It was interesting looking into his eyes like this. His eyes were like Nate’s. “Please leave.”   
I was taken aback, “What?”   
“I cannot think when you are present. It impairs my ability to perform my work to any capacity and I slack off daydreaming while lives depend on us. I need you to leave and retrieve my prototype right away.” His voice grew cold with his words.   
“I’m sorry.” I replied, “I know that tone in your voice, so I won’t bother you any longer.” I turned and walked away, feeling rather heavy.


	45. A Shocking Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please take a look at my other series I just started following my courier six.

Deacon, MacCready, and I were on the way to switchboard when a familiar furry figure came running to us in the distance. Behind it was another figure, human. Dogmeat came flashing by and tackled me over.   
"Well whose this little guy?" Deacon cooed as he leaned over. Dogmeat turned his licks to Deacon, earning a very happy smile.   
"Wait for me!" Piper yelled to me, running to catch up with Dogmeat.  
"He left you in the dust didn't he?" I asked.  
"Yeah, the last time I ask a dog for help." She wrote that down in her notepad. Dogmeat whined.   
"It's okay boy." I assured him. Satisfied, he returned to licking Deacon.   
"What were you doing tracking me down?" I questioned her.  
"I needed to get information on the Railroad." She answered.   
I paused as Deacon stood up and looked to me, "really? The railroad exists? I heard they're made up." Deacon faked.   
Dog eat ran over to MacCready, who of course rubbed him u and down.  
"No they are real, I just need you to point me to them Olivia." Piper pushed.  
"You know that if they did exist that I wouldn't be able to take you to them." I replied.  
"On come on Blue! I just need one story." She continued.   
"No Piper." I stated and began to continue the trek to switchboard.   
"Hey, I'm Wilfred.” Deacon extended his hand to Piper, who looked him up and down.   
“Wilfred, is it?” She shook his hand. “Come on Blue. At least let me tag along for a while.”   
“Thoughts guys?” I asked the crew.   
“Could always use another pair of eyes.” MacCready said.   
“We don’t want too many people for this mission.” Deacon hinted.   
“Well how about this, Piper you can come with us to beat up some synths, then you have to leave. No questions.” I decided.   
“Fine.” She huffed, “Now let’s get a move on!” She began to walk beside me.   
“I don’t think a young woman like yourself should be walking into synth territory.” Deacon said to Piper.   
“Well, Wilfred, you seem okay taking Blue with you.” Piper countered.   
“Well, Olivia is old-“   
“Shut the fuck up Wilfred.” I interrupted. “We’re almost the same age.”   
“Woah there boss,” Deacon put his hands up defensively, “you look great for your age.”   
“Prove it.” I teased.   
“Watch out, she’s a maneater.” MacCready chimed in.   
“Woman too from what I hear.” Deacon added.   
“Hello, I’m right here guys.” I blushed, turning to see Piper taking notes.   
“Don’t worry Blue,” Piper met my eyes, “I won’t tell Travis this part.”   
“So you’re the one keeping the tabs on me. Didn’t realize you were my secret admirer.” I joked.   
“Blue!” Piper blushed. 

I laughed as we pressed forward. It wouldn’t be long before we were at the switchboard. With the five of us, nothing would be in our way. Or at least, that’s what I thought until we got there and the place was flooded with synths. Some of them had face plates while others were open mechanics. 

“Alright, let’s go through this escape tunnel.” Deacon directed us into a dank sewer with a door to the side. We stepped in and fumbled around the darkness to the first area of the Switchboard. There were three synths, gen 2, sweeping the area. Two bodies were laid on the center of the floor. They must have died about the same time, both of them slightly bloated. Dogmeat must have been able to smell them as he gagged beside me. 

“So I’ll have Dogmeat dart out and get their attention, then the three of you take out the synths. I’ll make my way to the computer and enable the defense system.” I instructed.   
“Sounds good to me.” MacCready repiled.   
“Good here, Blue.” Piper agreed.   
“Shoot the chrome dome, on it.” Deacon nodded.   
“Okay, Dogmeat,” I reached in my bag for a piece of cooked meat, “go get it, boy!” I exclaimed as I chucked the meat over the synths and darted to the computer. Dogmeat leaped right into action.

Dogmeat was a blur of fur, ramming himself between two of the synths. Bullets rained on them, taking out all three. The commotion drew the attention of several more in the adjacent room where the defenses started. I turned on the terminal and started searching through the list of words and symbols. I moved as fast as I could without getting myself locked out. 

“Now or never Olivia!” MacCready called out, aiming his rifle at the incoming hostiles. 

Got it. The turrets and spotlights came to life. Bullet furries pounded into the synths, sending them to the ground as little more than nuts and bolts. 

“Nice one.” Deacon said to me, heading over to the terminal. “It would have taken me some time to hack this.”   
“Glad you’re impressed.” I smiled, heading over to dogmeat who was still hunting for the piece of meat. “Everyone ready for the next room?”   
“Very,” Piper replied. 

The next room was larger and had about three inches of water flooding it. There were about a dozen synths roaming around, looking for something. Carrington’s prototype perhaps. Deacon signaled me to fall back and took up his sniper rifle. MacCready joined him and the two took out two synths immediately. Two more were out before the others found us. Dog eat stayed behind me as he was trained to do when energy weapons were present. People could take a few rounds to the skin before risking melting or complete burning, but dogs are at risk on shot one. He stayed alert and threatening though, barking and growling. 

I shot down one synth and was working on a second when I heard Piper make a screeching sound. I turned to her, horrified at what I saw. The skin on her right arm was charred from a laser round and she was halfway disabled. Piper kept her pipe pistol on the offender, but she would need help. I shouted to Deacon who was closest to her and commanded Dogmeat to defend her. Dogmeat lurched onto the synth’s firing arm and ripped it out of its socket. The synth then proceeded to run its body at Piper, but Deacon took it out with a head shot before it reached her. Piper looked up to Deacon for a moment and smiled. 

In my preoccupation with watching Piper to make sure she was okay, I failed to see the stun rod wielding synth running straight at me. Dogmeat wasn’t behind me anymore to jump out and defend me, so I took the hit directly. I gurgled as electricity ran up and down my spine, setting my neurons on fire. The pain was unimaginable. I heard MacCready yell out to me over the crackling of the rod. I could smell my own burnt hair and leather. The feeling of heat on my face. I thought this was how I was going to die. 

MacCready was the one to make the pain stop, shooting the synth down. It became suddenly apparent to me that what felt like forever was really only about thirty seconds. I crumbled to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Dogmeat was hovering over me, licking at my face for some response. I was trembling from the aftershock of the attack. MacCready yelled out a series of almost-curses and no scoped several synths. Deacon was firing making his way over to me and Piper kept her gun up. The synths were all down now. 

“Olivia, can you hear me?” MacCready was in my face. I grunted in pain.   
“Hey, how many guns am I holding up?” Deacon dramatically lifted his rifle in the air.   
“Now’s not the time for jokes!” MacCready snapped. He reached for my bag.   
“I got it”, Piper appeared from behind Deacon with a stimpak. I tried to grunt no, but she shoved it in my thigh. The pain dulled and I managed to sit up in the water instead of having my face in it, halfway able to breath.   
“Thanks, but you need that too.” I said.   
“I’ll be okay Blue.” She replied.   
I pulled out the burn cream in my bag, “Here, put a lot of this on that burn.”   
“Thanks.” Piper did as instructed.   
“Are you going to be okay?” MacCready hugged me.   
“Yeah, just give me a minute to get my bearings and we’ll be back to shooting chrome domes.” I smiled. 

…

We made it through switchboard to the last room before where Carrington’s prototype should be. It was locked by a giant terminal controlled seal. Thankfully there were only four synths here that were taken down quickly. Deacon entered the password and the seal cracked open. Inside was the body of a man he knew and a gun in his hand that Deacon handed to me. 

“What’s this?” I asked him before grabbing the gun.   
“Deliverer, best damn pistol you’ll ever see.” Deacon replied.   
“Thank you, but are you sure you don’t want to keep it? This was your friend.” I questioned.   
“I’m used to everyone around me dying,” he laughed, “you’ll get more use out of it then me so just keep it.” 

I put it in my bag and looked around the room for this prototype we spent so long and risked our lives hunting for. It looked similar to a stealth boy. 

“Alright amigos, this is where we split up.” Deacon announced.   
“What?” Piper exclaimed, “I need to see this through.”   
“No, you don’t. Don’t fret though, I can meet you back at Diamond City anytime.” He winked at her.   
“Blue?” She looked to me.   
“He’s right Piper,” I agreed, “Why don’t you and MacCready head back to Diamond City and I’ll meet back up with you guys when Deacon and I are done.” The name came out before I realized it.   
“DEACON? So that’s your real name,” Piper took out her notepad, “Dea-con.” She wrote down his name.   
“Come on.” Deacon looked at me.   
“Sorry, you should have picked an easier to remember name.” I shrugged. 

MacCready and Piper headed back to Diamond city with Dogmeat, Deacon, and I made our way back to HQ. 

… 

“What happened to you?!” Carrington exclaimed while darting to me. My clothing over my stomach had been burnt clean off from the power of the stun rod. Dogmeat tilted his head at the doctor.   
“Synth with an angry juice stick.” I laughed, wincing at the pain it caused me to do so.   
“That’s one way to say it. Here Doc, Olivia found this,” Deacon tossed the prototype to Carrington.   
“Ah thank you.” He said to me, “now please sit on my table, you need an exam.”   
“Sure thing.” I carefully hopped onto the table and began to strip off my leather pads. Dogmeat jumped up on the table too, not wanting to be left out.   
“The dog can stay on the ground.” Carrington looked at Dogmeat with a frown.   
“He won’t. He’s too concerned about me right now to leave my side.” I pet Dogmeat on the head.   
“Fine,” Carrington huffed, “Can you unzip your top to let me get a better look at that burn?”   
“I’d take off more for you Doc.” I winked at him.   
“Now that’s the Olivia I know.” Glory called from the other side of the room, making me blush. 

Carrington rolled his eyes and leaned closer to me. He scanned the wound before recommending a blend of medication he created for electrical burns. 

“This should fix it up quickly.” He announced.   
“Thank you.” I replied, already feeling some relief from the burn.   
“I would like you to stay here for the night so I can keep an eye on that.” He continued.   
“I don’t think I would mind spending the night with you.” I teased. His voice caught in his throat and he proceeded to turn away from me. Having my breast partially exposed in my bra in addition to my teasing must have been getting him bothered, judging by his visible erection. 

I did as Carrington asked and spent the night, letting him reinspect the wound that no longer hurt in the morning.   
… 

“Everything is healing nicely.” He told me, smiling a bit at his own handiwork.   
“Carrington?” I hesitated.   
“Yes, Doctor Navarro?” He replied.   
“I think I know what my name should be.” I said.   
“Finally, what is it?” Deacon called out.   
“Charmer.” I winked at Carrington.   
“That seems very fitting.” Carrington smiled at me.   
“Hell yeah. Glory yelled out.   
“It’s settled then.” Desdemona appeared from around the corner, “Our new agent, Charmer.” Several people in the room began to clap before disappearing throughout the quarters.   
“Carrington, there was something else.” I whispered to him.  
“Yes Charmer?” His smile remained.   
“Can you meet with me in the back hall in a few minutes, after I take care of Dogmeat here?” I asked.   
“Okay, I can do that.” He looked at me puzzled.   
…

A few moments later Carrington closed the door to the back hall and met with me. Dogmeat was being entertained by Glory and Deacon in the other room. His lab coat swayed as he walked toward me. 

“I wanted to see you privately.” I started.   
“Actually, I wanted to see you too.” He said.  
“Oh? Well please, you go first.” I replied.   
“I am incredibly attracted to you and would like to amend my prior statements. I also owe you an apology for before.” He started, “I want to..” He pressed closer to me, “I want to do so many things to you.”   
“Is that so?” I moved closer to him.  
“I truly can’t think straight when you’re around.” He said before pulling me into a kiss.


	46. Dr. Wanna Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carrington gets some love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't heard Caro Emerald's Dr. Wanna Do, you should give it a listen.

“Carrington,” I breathed, my back pressed against the cold brick wall.   
“Stanley. Please,” he replied, moving his hands to my knees. With a quick motion, he pulled my legs up to his waist, pressing himself into me.   
I wrapped my legs around him, “Stanley, don’t stop.”   
“My dear, I didn’t plan to.” He replied. 

Carrington forced his head on my neck, frantically nipping and kissing me. One hand was pressed on the wall, keeping me pinned. The other was squeezing my ass. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressured him to keep his lips on me. He moaned when I let my fingers run through his hair. I could feel his erection pressing on my stomach. Breathing heavy, Carrington grasped the front zipper of my vault suit and ripped it down. I gasped at the sudden change in temperature, my areolas tightening. Without wasting a moment’s time, he massaged my breasts. His hand went back and forth between each one, gripping and rubbing. His hips pushed into me harder. The sensation of being manhandled and trapped between the wall and Carrington had me ready to go. 

“Fuck me,” I whispered in his ear, earning a rough thrust. 

I used a hand to finish unzipping my suit, exposing my panties. Carrington stumbled over his own zipper, freeing his erection. I rotated my hips to give him better access to me. He didn’t waste time on trying to finger me, instead, he pushed my panties to the side and bottomed himself out in one thrust. It hurt a bit at first, but the slight pain just turned me on more. Carrington bucked into me, putting a hand over my mouth after I let out a moan that was too audible. His hands were rough against my skin. As he bucked into me, he softly said my name. The sharp contrast of the softness of his voice to the aggressiveness of his fucking was almost more than I could take. I let him ravish me while my first orgasm took over me. When my walls tightened on him I could hear a whimper, then groan as he started bucking even more forcefully. 

I used my hands to scratch at his lab coat as he picked up his pace. I tilted my head back and let it get hit against the wall. I would have a headache when the bliss wore off, but it was going to be worth it. Surely Dr. Carrington would have some buffout to spare. I could feel him getting close, his member pulsing inside me. He whipped himself out of me and finished on the floor. He gently let me place my feet down, staring at my breasts. I smiled as he looked at me while adjusting his pants. 

“Thank you, Olivia, that was more than adequate. It’s no wonder that Glory couldn’t stop talking about you.” He said.   
“Well, I guess they don’t call me Charmer for nothing.” I laughed, zipping my suit back up.   
“We’ll have to do this again, somewhere more private where I can take my time.” He replied.   
“I think that can be arranged,” I winked, headed back to HQ.


	47. Back Aboard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Olivia has made her way to the Institue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: sensitive sexual themes

The Powder, home sweet home to so many soldiers. It was beautiful from here on the ground. Dogmeat, Deacon, and I made it to the gates of the old airport where she was docked. We were stopped with the flash of a hand from the knight on duty. 

“Halt. This area is for the Brotherhood only. Turn back around or be shot.” He threatened, clearly not recognizing me. It must be because of my short hair.  
“Knight Olivia, reporting for duty,” I announced, getting an eye from Deacon.  
“Apologises ma’am, couldn’t recognize you out of uniform.” He replied.  
“I’m sure,” I said as I ushered Deacon through the gates. Dogmeat sniffed the air and then bolted toward someone in the distance.  
“Knight. Guess my intel was right.” Deacon said to me.  
“I didn’t ask for the title, I just helped out some hurt people,” I replied.  
“You always were someone to lend a helping hand, that’s why the Railroad fits you.” He stated.  
“Careful who you talk about,” I whispered to him, looking around for anyone within earshot.  
“Looks like Dogmeat made a friend,” Deacon pointed to him. 

Dogmeat was jumping on his hindlegs excitedly while being vigorously petted by a man in power armor. Danse. My heart skipped a beat to see him. Even though I’m not happy about where we left off, he still made my heart beat a little faster. 

“Knight!” He met eyes with me as I approached him, “The machine has been built and awaits Elder Maxson’s orders.”  
“That’s great Danse,” I said as I reached up to hug his neck. His hands met my waist.  
“Who is this?” He looked to Deacon.  
“Names John.” Deacon reached his hand out to shake Danse’s.  
“Olivia, why is this man here?” There was a hint of jealousy in his voice.  
“He has information on the Institute that I think could be beneficial to our cause,” I replied.  
“I’ll have him questioned.” Danse stated, “You need to head with me to see Maxson.”  
“Do I have to?” I questioned.  
“Knight, what’s the problem?” He looked worried.  
“Nothing,” I lied, “let’s go.” I could feel my chest tighten.  
…

Maxson was wearing his usual coat with his hair slicked back. The scar on his face sticking out. I guess mine looks like that too. I could feel cold sweat dripping down my back. Feelings of our sexual encounter drew themselves out of me. Danse eyed me curiously. I would have to tell him about it eventually, just not now. 

“Knight.” Maxson addressed me.  
“Elder Maxson,” I replied formally.  
“As you may already know, we have finished the teleporter. This will be the key to infiltrating the Institute and ridding the Commonwealth of their filth,” He began to monologue, “They have committed crimes against nature, creating life out of the confines of a cold lab and not in the warmth of their mother’s womb. The time has come for you to take your rightful place in the Brotherhood. Tomorrow morning you shall be the one to enter the Institute and when you return successfully you shall be ranked a Paladin.”  
“That’s very generous of you, thank you.” I responded, ready to leave.  
“You have earned it Knight. Dismissed.” He turned to look out the airship’s window. 

Danse congratulated me as we headed to the mess hall. I was starving. Dogmeat was running around the ship greeting everyone except Proctor Quinlan, who only liked cats. We took a seat at the table with our Salisbury steaks. Two for each of us, although I knew I was going to give Dogmeat my second. Scribe Haylen saw us and took the seat across from me. Danse was at my right side, digging into his steak. 

“It’s so great to see you again Olivia. Your hair is looking amazing.” She smiled at me.  
“I missed you too,” I grabbed her hand. Haylen was like the sister I never had.  
“Where’s Dogmeat?” She looked around me.  
“Getting attention from everyone aboard the ship. He’ll come back once he smells this steak though.” I laughed.  
“He is an admirable companion.” Danse chimed in.  
“He’s saved my life more times than I care to admit, in more than one way,” I replied.  
“You’ll have to tell me about it sometime,” Haylen said.  
“Of course,” I responded. 

We finished catching up with one another and headed on to our rooms. I asked Danse to bunk with him and of course, he said yes. Dogmeat found his way to us and his steak. 

“Olivia?” Danse questioned.  
“Hm?” I asked.  
“Ah, nevermind.” His face was red.  
“You sure?” I pushed.  
“Yes. My apologies.” He answered. 

I began undressing, removing my leather pads first before unzipping my vault suit. Danse was watching me, having paused from setting up my bedroll on the floor. I could feel his gaze hot on my skin. I decided to tease out what Danse was thinking by slowing down my motions, letting my suit linger as I pushed it down my legs. I bent over to pull it over my feet, my ass perked up in the air. When I was done with the show I turned to see Danse facing the wall. 

“You okay Danse?” I asked.  
“Yes,” He cleared his throat, “just checking this wall for any foundational cracks that may ruin its integrity.”  
“Okay, sure,” I sighed, “So do you want to tell me what was on your mind now or…”  
“I’m worried about you. If this device malfunctions, you’re going to die. I think Elder Maxson should be sending me instead.”  
“I can handle myself,” I smiled, taking his hands in mine,“I’m going to get Shaun and return to you. Promise.”  
“I, ah.” He cleared his throat again, “I need you to come back.”  
I glanced downward accidentally noticing the line of an erection through his tight orange suit, “Danse?”  
“Yes Olivia?” He replied.  
“Would you like it if we shared a bed tonight?” I asked.  
“That would be inappropriate!” His face was a deep hue of red now.  
“Well, so is me sleeping here anyway.” I shrugged.  
“Okay.” He conceded. 

I crawled into the bed and snuggled myself under the sheets. Danse took off his orange suit, exposing rippling muscles and a trail of hair from his chest to his protruding hip bones. The sight was magnificent. His skin was taut over each ab. I could feel my heart flutter and a tightening in my loins. I was starting to ache watching him walk toward me in just his boxers. He slid under the sheets with me and laid on his back. I couldn’t stop myself from moving toward him, he was incredibly warm. 

“Is there not sufficient room?” Danse asked me.  
“There is plenty,” I replied, placing a hand on his bare chest. He stiffened under my touch, his heart beating faster. “Is this okay?”  
“Yes.” He breathed.  
“Do you want me to touch you?” I moved myself a little closer, my body pressed against him.  
“I-affirmative.” He collected himself.  
“How do you want me to touch you?” I continued, rubbing a leg on his.  
“I don’t know how to express how I feel about you.” He locked eyes with me, “I want you to touch me, but I think I want more than that. I want to touch you.”  
“You have permission Paladin,” I joked.  
“I don’t know how.” He stated, looking upset at himself.  
“You mean you never…” I started.  
“No.” He answered.  
“Well have you ever done it to yourself?” I continued.  
“I-a few times. Mostly since I met you.” He looked at me sheepishly.  
“Then we don’t need to rush into anything.” I disengaged from what I was doing and settled for touching his chest.  
“No, I want this,” He turned on his side and touched my face.  
“I need you to tell me what you want.” I brushed my hand to his cheek, which was very warm.  
“I want to tell you how I feel about you before you risk yourself tomorrow. If something happens...I want you to have known this.” He looked like he was about to tear up, “I love you, Olivia.”  
“Love?” I was taken aback.  
“I know you have lovers and that you aren’t ready to commit your heart to someone, but please let me show you how I feel.” He pleaded with me.  
“Are you sure? If this is your first time and you think you love me...I don’t want to crush your heart if this doesn’t end with us together.” I replied.  
“I know and I’m willing to take that risk. Please, Olivia.” He rubbed a hand cautiously down my back.  
“Danse,” I hesitated, “there’s something I need to tell you. You aren’t going to like it.”  
“You can tell me anything.” Danse cupped my cheek.  
“It’s about Maxson,” I started, avoiding Danse’s eyes, “He and I...we had a physical engagement that didn’t go well.”  
“You fought Maxson?” His eyes grew wide.  
“No not that kind of engagement. It was a one night stand,” I turned my face downward, “I was okay with it at first, but he was too rough. I wanted him to stop but I couldn’t make the words come out before he was...done.”  
“I don’t believe it.” Danse breathed.  
“You don’t believe me?” I questioned.  
“No, I just can’t believe that Maxson would have been capable of this. When did it happen?” He was visibly upset.  
“Not long after you brought me here,” I admitted.  
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Danse pulled me into a bear hug.  
“I didn’t know how you would take it. People don’t really believe women if they let it start and couldn’t say stop. I felt trapped.” I could feel the tears rolling down my face.  
“It’s okay Olivia.” He rubbed my head down to my back and back up again.  
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” I began to weep, “I wanted to tell you that night it happened, I just couldn’t.”  
Danse tilted my head to face him, “You don’t need to apologize for anything. Elder Maxson is the only one who should apologize and I will see that he does,” Danse began to move out of the bed.  
I pulled him back into the bed by wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders and pulling, “No don’t. Just stay here with me tonight.” I could hear Dogmeat whimpering at me from the side of the bed.  
“Okay.” Danse rolled back into the bed.  
I pulled my legs up onto his and gave him a kiss on the cheek, “I can’t promise you anything, but if you want something from me I’d be happy to give it.”  
“I can’t ask that of you now. You are distressed and I will not take advantage of you.” He replied.  
“You’re a good man Danse.” I laid my head on his chest. 

…

I awoke that morning completely wrapped up in Danse’s arms. Dogmeat had propped himself onto the bed, waiting for his breakfast. I snuggled closer into Danse’s chest and he responded with a warm grumble. 

“I think it’s time to get up,” I whispered to him, half asleep.  
“Affirmative.” He mumbled, slowly opening his eyes. “How do you feel?”  
“Better, thanks to you,” I replied.  
“Good. Let’s get you outfitted and ready soldier.” He sounded awake already.  
“Yes, sir.” I teased. 

I stretched my way out of bed to meet Danse at his locker. He was pulling out a brotherhood suit that was too small for him. He held it to me. Its material was soft in my hands. It fit me like my old vault suit, but without the grime and mystery stains. Danse was watching me eagerly, like how Dogmeat was looking at the unopened can of cram on the nightstand. 

“This is nice Danse, thank you,” I said  
“You deserve it, knight.” He smiled at me, “there’s something else too. I want you to take this laser rifle. I customized it myself to be just like my own.”  
“I can’t take this Danse,” I started, “It’s too valuable.”  
“Killing the Institute is more valuable than any weapon, I want you to use it to kill those bastards who took your son.” He handed me the rifle.  
“Thanks, Danse. “ 

…

I was geared up in Brotherhood light  
combat armor, wielding Danse’s rifle and a side bag full of stimpaks. I was ready for battle. Dogmeat was clearly not ready for me to leave though as he whimpered and whined while I stood on the stage of the teleporter. Danse looked on nervously as Maxon gave the final countdown. The porter shook and groaned. I felt lighter than normal, then there was the sound of electricity crackling. Before I knew it I couldn’t see or feel anything. Then I was in a dark room. 

“Welcome to the Institute.” A voice spoke out from an intercom, “I knew you would find your way here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cockblock, Danse's time will come.


	48. The Institute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia finally makes it to the Institue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For JadeLoverXD I brought X6-88 in early

I followed the instructions of the man on the intercom. It led me into an elevator and to a room that smelled slightly of bleach. The walls and floors were white and the cleanest looking things I’ve seen since waking up from hibernation. In the corner was a glass tank with a door. A little boy was inside, just standing there. I hesitantly approached him. 

“Shaun?” I asked.   
“Yes, that’s me. Who are you?” The boy questioned, looking scared.   
“Shaun it’s me, I’m your mom. You don’t know me because some men stole you, but I’m here to take you home. It’ll be alright, just let me in.” I pleaded.   
“Father? Father! Help me, someone is trying to take me!” Shaun screamed.   
“No, no, no. Sweetie I’m your mom. Please, just open the door.” I began to cry.   
“FATHER!” Shaun yelled some more.   
“No Shaun-” 

A door opened to my right and an older man stepped out. I grabbed the rifle from my back and aimed it at him before he could even notice. He threw his hands in the air. 

“Please, I know you have questions and have gone through a lot to get here, so hear me out.” He said calmly.   
“You have thirty seconds before I blow your head off you bastard.” I threatened.   
“Shaun, S9-23 Recall code cirrus.” He stated and Shaun seemed to have shut down like a robot.   
“What the hell?” I exclaimed, “What did you sick fucks do to my son?” I demanded.   
“Given the circumstances, I will look past your crude language.” The stranger replied.   
“Ah fuck this,” I shot the laser next to his head, striking the wall. “I said what the hell did you do.”   
The stranger looked like he shit himself as he coward, “It’s me, I’m Shaun!”   
“Okay now you’re really pissing me off, there’s no way that your-” I paused, taking a good look at the man’s face for the first time. He looked a lot like Nate. “Shaun? Is it really you?” My voice toned down and I lowered my weapon, taking a few steps toward him.   
“I know you have questions and I will answer them all in time. Let’s start anew, I am Father and welcome to the Institute. I will start by telling you about myself and why I was taken from you.” He started.   
“Stolen,” I corrected, “from your father’s cold, dead hands. God, you look just like him.” I stepped in front of him and reached a hand to his face. He didn’t stop me from touching him.   
“You have to understand. The Institute was on the verge of a breakthrough with synthetic organics. They needed me.” He continued.   
“They needed DNA, untainted by radiation from the bombs.” I sighed.  
“Exactly, I knew you would understand.” He replied.  
“I also understand that that is absolutely unethical and if they really need the DNA they could have taken a few samples and returned you.” I stated.   
“True, but they needed a large supply of DNA. Rather than cast me aside once they had what they needed, they raised me as one of their own. I've lived my entire life within the Institute.” He replied.   
“So...why not unfreeze me too?” I asked.   
“They kept you as the back-up.” He stated.   
“Well, at least it looks like you were raised fairly well.” I sighed, thinking of all the wasted years.   
“It helped that I had a natural affinity for science, but yes.” He smiled.   
“You had to have gotten that from me, because your dad was not the academic type.” I laughed.   
“Yes, I read your files many times. You were a doctor and very respected in your field.” Shaun responded.   
“My file said that?” I asked.   
“And much more, although your new file since waking up is...more colorful.” He answered.   
“How much do you know?” I said, concerned.   
“I didn’t allow our informants to pry into your personal life, if that is what is concerning you.” He replied.   
“Good. Even though you aren’t at all what I was expecting, I still love you son.” I wrapped him in an awkward hug. He patted my back as though he has never been hugged before.   
“Thank you, mother.” He hesitated. “Now please follow me for a tour of our facilities, there is much I have to show you.” 

…

“Gorillas?” I asked, pointing to the two LITERAL GORILLAS behind the plexiglass enclosure.   
“It is a pet project of mine, ma’am.” Clayton Holdren stammered to me.   
“They’re impressive, they look like real gorillas but...why gorillas?” I couldn’t get it past my mind. Of all the amazingly fantastic things I’ve come to see in the Institute, this is what took the cake.   
“Their DNA is close to humans, so it was easier to work with than say that of a bird or fish.” Clayton replied.   
“I guess that makes more sense...still though, a chimp wouldn’t suffice? You went immediately with the biggest and most dangerous of the Apes?” I questioned.   
“I...yes.” He looked at Shaun, nervous.   
“Okay then.” I laughed, turning to Shaun.   
“I want to show you how we make synths.” He gestured to the door of the lab and placed a guiding hand on my back.   
“While we’re walking, can you tell me more about coursers?” I asked him.   
“Ah yes, our proudest achievement. They are stronger than average men and just as intelligent. The fact you took one down speaks to your abilities.” He replied.  
“Well I had help, but that’s not why I asked. I want to know how you make them different.” I clarified.   
“I will let Dr. Ayo address that. Here we are.” He opened the door of the next lab. 

I watched as a large circular machine suspended a skeleton into the air and moved it onto a table that spun muscle fibers like wool. The movements were too fast to comfortably follow. The outline of the man was then dipped into a pool of what looked like hemolytic serum. Out emerged a naked man who was promptly directed to another part of the room away from sight. 

“Incredible, isn’t it?” A balding man asked me.   
“It’s...something.” I hesitated.   
“This is Alan Binet. He works here in the robotics division.” Shaun introduced.   
“And we all know who you are,” Alan started, “the mother who stopped at nothing to find her son. We’ve all been watching your journey enthusiastically here.”   
“You’ve been watching me?” I asked.   
“Not in the literal sense, but through the field reports taken on you.” He answered.   
“Yes, the personnel have restricted access to your files, but only the board can see all of it.” Shaun told me.   
“Alright then. Where was the next stop?” I wished to leave the sight of the synth maker, it made my stomach hurt.   
“Synth retention, just this way.” He led me out of the lab.   
…

“You shouldn’t even be here, this is a breach of security!” Dr. Ayo shouted at Shaun.   
“The only security you need to worry about is your own if you keep talking to my son like that.” I threatened, hand at my pistol on my hip.   
“And now she openly threatens a director? You see why we can’t have upsiders here?” He continued.   
“Is there a problem, Sir?” A courser in the tale-tale black coat approached us from behind.   
“Yes there is, but that’s not for you to handle. Report back to your station X6-77.” Dr. Ayo commanded.   
“Let us all calm down.” Shaun put his hands out to the both of us, “I have some business I must attend to, so I will leave you to explore the facilities. Come see me in my office before you leave.” He walked away, “And don’t shoot anyone, please.”   
“What’s your problem?” I asked Dr. Ayo.   
“You are. Not only did you manage to take down one of my best coursers, but you are here with weapons left to wander. How did you defeat the courser?” He questioned.   
“I had help. Your courser left me with this present,” I pointed to my scar, “a parting gift I believe.”   
“He must have been malfunctioning then, our coursers don’t have feelings to do something like that.” He sighed.   
“Oh they most certainly do have feelings, but you wouldn’t understand. Now what is it that Shaun wanted me to see here?” I changed topics.   
“I have been instructed to give you a run-down of our division. I’ll start with how we make the coursers…” 

…

“And once they complete that training they are full coursers.” He finished the lengthy explanation.   
“I would very much like to try out that hand to hand training.” I pointed to two coursers practicing in a workout section of the division's lab.   
“You don’t ‘try out’ training with a courser. They have superior strength that would leave you crushed at their hands.” He warned as I stepped up to the fighters, both of them out of those coats and wearing just their pants and black t-shirt. 

Their movements were captivating. Each hit sent a shockwave through their muscles, and boy were they muscled. There was no expense spared at their creation. My eyes were particularly attracted to the darker of the two men. He had a fade and tightly coiled 4c hair. His face was well-featured and his eyes were near colorless. 

Both men suddenly stopped sparing as I got next to the ring. “Oh, hello.” I greeted them.   
“May we help you ma’am?” The man I undressed with my eyes asked.   
“Yes, I was hoping you could teach me some of those moves.” I replied.   
“Moves, ma’am?” He seemed confused.   
“I need to work on my defensive hand-to-hand combat and since I barely survived my first encounter with a courser, I would like to train with one.” I continued.   
“I understand ma’am. I am designated X6-88 and you must be Father’s mother.” He stated.   
“Wow, word does get around huh? Yeah that’s me.” I said, stepping into the ring.   
“What would you like to know ma’am?” X6-88 asked me.  
“Just the basics please.” I responded, feeling naked without my weapons.   
“I will need to assess your current knowledge before I can instruct, is that okay ma’am?” He asked so politely.   
“You can assess whatever you wish about me.” I teased, clearly landing on deaf ears.  
“I will come at you and you will block my advance, ma’am.” X6-88 instructed before lunging toward me. 

I jumped out of the way of the first strike and watched for the second. X6-88 turned on his heel before I had an idea what he was about to do and his fist landed clearly on my jaw. I fell to the ground harder than expected. 

“I am sorry ma’am,” He reached down to help me to my feet, “I thought you could block that advance.”   
“No need to apologise, let’s do it again.” I took his hand to be helped up. 

He effortlessly lifted me with one hand. I could feel tingles at the motion. Not even Nate could pick me up like that. 

“Alright,” I started, “What’s wrong with my stance?”   
“May I touch you, ma’am?” He asked collectedly.   
“Please do, I need to learn.” I replied. 

X6-88 used his foot to slide my own slightly at an angle. He grabbed at my shoulders to make my back straight. I could catch myself breathing harder at the intimacy of the actions. He then ran his hands up my arms to position my hands in the air. He easily towered about a foot taller than me.

“This stance will work more effectively against hostiles.” He stated, moving back in front of me, “Now if I strike you with my left hand like this,” He made a punching motion, “you need to bring your right hand up to catch it.”   
“I can do that.” I prepared the stance and he threw a punch. As instructed I caught his hand. I could tell he was holding back on me.   
“Now we will do the same with my right hand and your left.” He threw another punch and I caught it.   
“I got it,” I said, surprised.   
“After you catch your opponent you need to take him down. I suggest you use a leg to swipe under mine.” X6-88 replied.   
“Alright, I’m ready,” I responded, getting back into my pose.

X6-88 ran toward me throwing a left then a right. I dodged the first left and caught the right. My hand stung at the impact. I used all my strength to jump down and swing my right leg around, hooking his legs. He caught himself as he fell backwards. I smiled at him, impressed that I did the thing that I used to see in movies. 

“That was most impressive, I did not anticipate that you would be successful.” He said to me as he stood up.   
“I aim to please,” I laughed, “Thank you for taking the time to show me this, I’m sure it will save my life someday.”   
“Undoubtedly.” He agreed.   
“Well, I guess I should get back to Shaun now,” I announced.   
“Allow me to escort you, ma’am,” He replied.


	49. The Courser, the Lab, and the Food Supplement

“So you really like being here?” I asked X6-88 before heading into Shaun’s quarters.  
“The Institute is the future of Mankind, ma’am,” He robotically answered.  
“It’s like you’ve been programmed to say that, although that wouldn’t be surprising,” I joked.  
“It is not programming ma’am, but the truth,” He replied, opening the door for me.  
“Thank you very much.” I said, walking in the room, “I appreciate all the help.”  
“You’re welcome ma’am,” He said. 

X6-88 stood by the door for a moment, looking at me from behind those big shades. If he had expressions, I’m sure he would be perplexed. He definitely is not used to people talking to him like a human and not a synth. There was a tone in his voice that was somewhat sad, like there is nothing to him but being a machine. This is why I can’t join the Institute, this is horrible. 

“There you are Mother,” Shaun raised his hands up at a table where all the heads of the departments were sitting.  
“Hello...everyone,” I hesitantly waved a hand.  
“Why is she here?” Dr. Ayo spat.  
“Well, they let you in, so…” I replied, drawing a hateful eye.  
“She is here because I asked her here. There is important news for all of you to hear.” Shaun said.  
“What’s going on Shaun?” I asked.  
“Mother, you wouldn’t be aware of this but I’ve been sick for a long time. Despite the best efforts by our lead doctors and scientists, I am dying,” He calmly stated. A collected intake of breath spread across the room. “I have an aggressive form of cancer that won’t respond to treatment. I’ll be gone soon, so I gathered you here to appoint a successor before that day comes.” I felt the tears streaming down my face and the heat in my throat like I swallowed thistles, but my voice was lost. “We need a leader and I found the perfect person to do just that. She has led armies, cultivated friendships, and given hope in a hopeless world. She is my mother.” 

The room erupted in yelling and arguing. I just stood there staring at Shaun, unable to move or speak. I finally found my son, just to find out he’s already grown. Now my grown son is about to die from something I can’t protect him from. I failed him and I failed Nate. Everything I’ve done, everything I’ve been through, all the people who have died on either side, all for nothing. This was how it was going to be no matter what happened. My son was going to be taken from me for the third time. I wanted to cherish the next several years of his natural life with him, maybe a couple of decades, but no. Now he was going to die. 

“Mother?” Shaun’s voice snapped me back to reality, back to the room full of hostiles.  
“Yes, son?” I managed meekly.  
“Will you do it? Will you lead the Institute?” He continued.  
“I-I don’t know,” I stammered, the world was closing in on me.  
“Will you do it for me, mother?” He pressed the button, this was the only thing I could do for him now. The only thing he asked of me.  
“For you?” I started, “I’d do anything for my son.”  
Shaun smiled wide, “Fantastic. I’ll make the arrangements.”  
“This is an outrage!” Ayo exclaimed, others agreeing.  
“This isn’t a matter of debate. The director has sole authority to appoint a successor, or do you need to be reminded?” He kept his cool.  
“No, sir.” Ayo shrunk down.  
“Now, everyone is dismissed.” Shaun stated. 

I stayed frozen in my spot, still unbelieving. This was too much at once. Was I even able to make a decision right now? What would I do with this position? I hate the Institute, how could I run it? What did I do? What am I doing?

“Mother?” Shaun’s voice pulled me back again. 

This time I didn’t give a verbal response. I pulled my rooted feet from the floor and moved to my son, my dying son. I gave him the biggest bear hug I could muster. Shaun hugged me back for real this time, making my sobbing halt. He led me to another section of his quarters, showing me his treatment area and assuring me that there was nothing left to do but die. He showed me to his office and told me how to access everything I would need, he already took the liberty to prepare written tutorials on how he runs each section. Shaun was fully prepared, but I was not.  
“This is your quarters that I had prepared for you to come and go as you please. I also am giving you some security, this courser should provide ample protection while you are here and elsewhere.” Shaun said, leading me to a room across the hall from his.  
“X6-88?” I looked at the large man with dark shades standing by the door.  
“Oh, you already know this unit?” Shaun asked.  
Hell yeah he’s a UNIT. “Ah, yes. He showed me some good self-defense techniques.” I replied, ignoring my own lewd thoughts.  
“Interesting. X6-88, you will take your post and inform mother of the objective.” Shaun stated, turning to leave, “There is something I must ask of you, but I have other matters to attend to. Please go with X6-88.”  
“Alright Shaun,” I faked a smile. “Is there anything else I can call you?”  
“Is my designation not sufficient, ma’am?” He asked.  
“It’s not that, it’s just so impersonal,” I replied.  
“I am a courser ma’am, it is proper to use my designation. It is the only name I know.” He responded.  
“Fair enough, I’ll find a nickname for you,” I teased, “so what’s this mission?”  
“There is a synth living among the Brotherhood of Steel that needs reclaiming.” He informed me.  
“And you need me to do this because I’m in the Brotherhood?” I questioned.  
“Affirmative, ma’am,” he said, “We have several infiltrants currently at the airport, but there is one in particular that we need back. The rest will be reclaimed at a later date. A list of their names, designations, and recall codes are on your desk. Might I suggest you get some rest before we head out?”  
“Rest sounds good.” I agreed.  
“There is a shower and a pair of clean clothes I laid out for you ma’am,” X6-88 stated.  
“Oh so you’re not just my bodyguard, but my personal assistant?” I questioned.  
“I will serve you in any way you need, ma’am,” he answered.  
“Any way?” I teased.  
It went over his head, “Yes ma’am.”  
“Alright, I guess I need a bath. Thank you,” I replied. 

I stepped into the small, circular shower. The water was pleasantly warm, but not hot. It was a great change of pace from the usual cold washcloth baths. I let the suds of the soap soak into my skin and enjoyed the sensation of being clean, truly clean since waking up. Maybe being director here wouldn’t be so bad after all. Finally, I stepped back out the shower. Much to my surprise X6-88 was sitting on my bed, an eyebrow raised at my nudity.

I yipped and grabbed my towel, “What are you doing in here?”  
“You are very vulnerable to attacks while showering, I’m here to protect you, ma’am,” He said nonchalantly.  
“You couldn’t have given a lady a heads up?” I asked, clinging to my towel.  
“I apologize ma’am. I will do that next time. Why are you clinging to your towel?” He questioned.  
“Because you just saw me naked,” I answered.  
“There is no need for modesty, I do not have romantic emotions,” He replied.  
“Really? Not a single one?” I asked him.  
“I am not programmed for such things, ma’am,” He assured.  
“Alright, I’ll take your word for it.” I said as I removed my towel and began to dry off. 

I really didn’t care if he did like what he saw, now that I’m thinking about it. He is one of the most handsome men I’ve seen. I actually hope he did like it because I wouldn’t mind taking a few bites out of him. Oh well. 

I thought about my plan to get into Virgil’s lab while I was putting on the nice white clothing that X6-88 laid out for me. I knew that the lab was in the biologics department and I knew that the security of the area would be tight. I feel confident in my abilities as a hacker, but now I needed to shake X6-88 off of me for a few minutes. 

“X6-88. I will be heading to the biologics department. I want you stationed at the door outside of it to watch out for any threats. I will only be in there for a few moments to talk with some people.” I bluffed.  
“It would be safer if I was inside the room, ma'am," he countered.  
"I know, but I want to be able to talk to people without them worrying about the intimidating courser behind me," I replied.  
"As you wish." He gave in. 

…

Alright, so this is where Brian's lab was. There's laser security beams controlled by a tightly locked terminal. It would take a while for me to hack this but luckily there aren't many people in the room. I spent about fifteen minutes before I could break the code and disable the beams. I slinked into the darkroom to a surprise. There were two super mutants suspended in tubes and green liquid. This was definitely the right place. I looked through the office desks and tables for the vial Virgil needed. It was found on a table in a glass case. I took the vial and slipped it into the pocket of the lab coat I was wearing. Quickly, I found my way back to the terminal and turned the beams back on. No one seemed to notice me slip out of the room. 

"Alright X6-88, I'm done," I announced, stepping out of the lab.  
"Welcome back ma'am. There is a matter I must discuss with you," he replied.  
"The objective?" I asked.  
"Yes ma'am. We need to leave in the morning if we want to reclaim this synth. You should rest now," he stated.  
"I can do that," I laughed, thinking on how exhausted I was. 

We made it back to my quarters with ease. I looked at the fresh-pressed sheets of my bed and wanted to cry. The first truly clean thing I would be sleeping on in two years. Two. Long. Years. X6-88 watched me intensely as I slipped out of my clothes. 

"Do you like what you see?" I questioned.  
"I don't understand your question," he replied.  
"What? No ma'am this time? Are you flustered X6?" I teased.  
"No ma'am. I only enjoy serving the Institute," he responded calmly.  
"Of course, just a joke," I said.

He kept his eyes on me, or at least I assume so based on the position of his glasses. I slide into the sheets in just my underwear. X6-88 sat down in a chair beside me, facing the door. Apparently, coursers don't need sleep. 

…

I woke up to a plate of "food supplement" that X6-88 brought to me. He got the food while I still slept and gently woke me up with a tap on the shoulder. His face was definitely something nice to wake up to. The food supplement wasn’t the worst thing I’ve eaten, but it was far from the best. It was crazy bland and had a slight vegetable flavor. 

“Did you already eat?” I asked X6-88.  
“Yes ma’am,” He replied.  
“Good,” I smiled. 

I returned to my plate and drank the purified water. X6-88 took the plate back to the cafeteria for me while I got dressed. I looked at my suit next to the clean and fresh-pressed Institute clothing. It was clear to me that the lab clothing would do nothing for me back above ground, but boy did I want to wear it. I stood indecisive so long that X6-88 was back while I was still standing in my underwear. At least I was accustomed to it now. 

“Is something wrong ma’am?” He asked me.  
“Kinda, I want to wear these nice fresh clothes you laid out for me but if we are going topside I need armor,” I explained.  
“You can get armor here ma’am,” He informed me. 

He led me to a generation two synth that was in control of the supplies. Sure enough, there was some armor there that looked straight out of a science fiction movie. I was given the armor at no charge since I was to be the acting Director soon. It weighed on me that everything here was going to be effectively mine. 

The under armor fit snug like my vault suit did with the zipped in the back. It was a slightly grey shade and the synth component pads were a creamy white. The light scheme looked in sharp contrast to my melanin and I liked it that way. I also got a new weapon, a plasma rifle that shot blue beams of energy to disintegrate foes. I was also supplied with a few funny looking grenades that I was told summon synths when used. Hopefully I wouldn’t need them. I looked to X6-88 battle-ready and raring to go. We stepped into the big transporter and set our location just outside of the airport where the Brotherhood wouldn’t see us teleport in. 

This was going to be an interesting mission.


	50. Ad Victoriam

We made it just outside the airport as planned. I made up a backstory for X6-88, giving him the name Clarence and a backstory. We weren’t going to lie about him being from the Institute, but we were going to hide the fact he’s a synth. He didn’t like the idea of hiding anything, but he understood my reasoning. We both raised our hands up in the air as we walked toward the gates of the airport. 

“State your business,” the knight at the gate said, aiming his minigun at us.   
“Knight Olivia reporting in with a friend,” I replied.   
“You’re back from the Institute?” He asked, sounding giddy.   
“Yes, and I have important information may we pass?” I questioned.   
“Yes ma’am,” He stepped aside from the opening and let us through. 

I signaled the vertibird down and we boarded. X6-88 has never been in the sky, but he was looking intensely at the sights. Although, he always looks intense. He had the kind of intensity that made your pants wet the moment he takes off his glasses. I pushed those thoughts to the side as we exited the vertibird. I walked X6-88 into the prydwen and straight to Elder Maxson. 

“Knight, I see you are back from the Institute. I expect a full report in the morning of everything you learned. You’ve earned yourself the rank-”   
“Olivia!” Danse’s voice cut off Elder Maxson.  
“Ah Danse, just in time. You should be proud that your initiate will now be known as a Paladin for all the work she has done for the Brotherhood.” Maxson continued.   
“I am,” Danse turned to me, his face shining with glee, “I’m very proud.”   
The words were bittersweet now that I was going to be Director, “Thank you.”   
“Now, go to our scribes. I trust this friend you brought with you also has important information on the Institute?” Maxson asked as Danse eyed X6-88.   
“Of course Elder Maxson,” I lied.   
“Good. Dismissed Paladin.” Maxson replied.   
I walked out with Danse and X6-88 to Danse’s quarters, “So who is this Olivia?” Danse asked.  
“This is Clarence, he deserted the Institute with my help and wants to give the Brotherhood information,” It hurt to lie to Danse.   
“Nice to meet you Clarence,” Danse shook hands with X6-88 awkwardly.   
“Clarence, why don’t you go over to Proctor Quinlan right there,” I pointed to the office, “Danse and I need to have a private talk.”   
“Yes ma’am,” He answered, drawing an eyebrow raise from Danse. 

Danse opened the door to his quarters for me. I walked inside and turned as the door shut. Danse rushed me and held me up by the waist with both hands, raising me just enough to be able to kiss him at his level. He was so sweet in the way his lips danced on mine. I smiled as he set me back down on the ground.   
“I wasn’t expecting that,” I smiled at him.   
“And you wouldn’t be expecting this either,” He raised his hand toward the bed which was covered in hubflower petals in the shape of a heart.   
“When did you have time to do this?” I laughed.   
“I had the flowers for you right after you left and I saw you walking in the gate, so I decided to do this with them,” He rubbed the back of his head, red faced.   
“You really want me don’t you?” I asked.   
“I can show you,” He moved in on me again and leaned down to my level, kissing my cheeks, “What is this armor?”   
“It’s made from synth parts, but we can get to that later. It comes off easy enough,” I said, sliding the pads off. 

Danse stood towering over me, watching me finish removing the pads. He stepped right in front of me and leaned back down to kiss my neck, using his left hand to cusp my face. Slowly he slid his right hand across my shoulder to the zipper on my back. Tantalizing, he took his time unzipping the suit. I brought my hands to his burly chest and quickly did away with his front zipper, unveiling his pecks. I ran my fingers up and down the hair, feeling myself get wetter with each second. His hair trailed all the way down and I planned to follow it. All these sensations took my mind off Shaun, especially since Danse seemed to have forgotten about asking me where he was. 

I helped Danse remove the rest of my suit, exposing my small clothes. I heard his breath get heavier after seeing me like this. I put my hands back to his chest and began to kiss his pecks, down his abs, and to the mound above his erection. Slowly I led him to take off the rest of his suit and boxers, his erection bouncing toward me. He looked nervous, so I took it easy on him. I gripped his shaft with one hand and braced myself on his thigh with the other. I got onto my knees and licked at the tip of his erection. His breath was sharp at the feelings. Everything was new to him. 

“Olivia,” he breathed as I took him in my mouth. 

I bobbed slowly, taking my time with him. Danse placed his hands in my hair and encouraged me to go faster. He clearly was loving every second of this, his head tilted backward and his balls twitching. As desired, I picked up my pace. I bottomed him out, his precum dripping down my throat. Danse began to thrust with my motions. I could tell he was close so I let him out of my mouth and stood up to meet him. With a quick motion, he swept me off my feet and carried me onto the bed. 

Danse carefully brought himself over me, clearly worried about crushing me. I giggled at the thought and forced his upper half down on me, kissing him. As his lips moved against mine I positioned myself to press against his cock. He groaned as I pushed myself down on him, his tip going into me even through my underwear. He reached down and pushed them to the side. I used a hand to guide him into me. I could feel myself stretch out with his girth, earning him a moan. He hesitantly began to move in and out of me, looking scared of messing up. 

“It’s okay Danse, you won’t hurt me. I promise,” I assured him. 

With that green light he began to thrust fully, pushing his whole length with each stroke. I ran my hands up and down his back, scratching slightly as his pace picked up. You could tell he was a soldier based on the endurance he was showing me, managing to keep up the pace for several minutes. I tilted my hips to give him easier access to my G-spot. My efforts weren’t in vain as he began to hit it with each thrust. I could tell I wouldn’t last like this and I breathed to him to go harder. The slapping sounds were very audible as he pumped inside of me. I could feel my walls closing in on him. Danse let out a tense moan as I came onto him. He pulled out just in time to finish on my stomach. 

We laid there on each other for a few moments, locking eyes, until Danse got up to get a wet rag. He took the time to clean me off himself. He was so hard on the outside, but he's really a big softy. 

"So, how was it?" I asked him, standing up to put my clothes back on.  
"Better than anything I could have ever imagined," he answered.   
"I'm glad. I appreciate the work you put in, you did great," I smiled at him, "now I believe I need to see Proctor Quilan about the mission,” I finished zipping up my suit.   
“You don’t want to...stay longer?” Danse sounded disappointed.   
“I want a lot of things Danse, but I need to go do this. I’m sorry,” I placed a kiss on his cheek, “we can finish what we started here tonight, after I talk to you about Shaun.”   
“I’m sorry I forgot, where is he? Is he safe?” His eyes lit up with the realization he forgot the whole point of going to the institute was for me to rescue Shaun.   
“He is safe and alive but...he’s not doing well. I’ll explain more later I promise, but X-er Clarence is waiting for me in Quilan’s office.” I stopped myself from crying.   
“Okay, I understand. Just...be safe for me, soldier.” He replied.   
“It’s just Quilan,” I laughed, heading out the door. 

X6-88 was standing at the door outside, scaring the ever living shit out of me. I jumped, startled, then collected myself. 

“So you are in a sexual relationship with the Paladin, ma’am?” He sounded a little different when asking this.   
“I am now. Were you just listening in the whole time?” My face turned red in embarrassment.   
“No ma’am, just the ending. You sounded...happy. I was just standing guard in case he attempted to hurt you,” He replied.   
“I fear I’m the one that hurt him. Come, I need to talk to Quilan,” I commanded. 

…  
“Alright X6-88, where is this synth we are looking for?” I questioned while we had a moment alone.   
“It appears you slept with him, ma’am,” He answered.   
“Danse?” I was shocked, “That has to be a mistake.”   
“Recall code lambda delta 376 autherization nimbus, use it and he will shut down for transport.” X6-88 replied.   
“No. No one is using that one him. I’m commanding it.” I began to panic. I needed to get Danse out of here before the Brotherhood found out.   
“I don’t understand ma’am, he is our mission’s target. Do you believe he will come willingly?” He asked.   
“I’m not giving Danse to the Institute X6-88. I don’t care what Shaun wants out of this mission. Danse will stay topside, even if I have to kill someone to make it happen,” I stated.   
“I will follow your order ma’am, but if I may?” He responded.   
“Go ahead.”   
“It would be unwise to return without the synth. He has invaluable information on the Brotherhood that would aid in the Institute's defense against them,” He continued.   
“Surely there is another synth here I could take instead?” I pleaded.   
“There is one other, a scribe going by the name of Haylen.” My heart dropped. 

X6-88 was right, I couldn’t just return empty handed. I would have to pick one of them. I need to be the Director if there is any hope for a peaceful compromise between all factions. The Director can shut down synth production, then the resources underground can be used to help everyone. But how would I pick? 

“Is there any other synth here?” I asked.  
“There is one more, a knight. Is that who you would prefer to take?” He replied.   
“Yes please.” I sighed a breath of release.   
“There is one complication, he is currently deployed near the edge of the glowing sea.” X6-88 continued.   
Then we’ll go there. Let me speak to Danse before we leave.”   
…

I knocked on Danse’s door, having X6-88 waiting for me by the vertibird. He opened it with a small happy look on his face. The room had been cleaned of the flower petals and the bed remade. On the table was my new weapon that Danse had been inspecting. 

“That’s an amazing weapon you got there,” He commented.   
“Yeah, I haven’t gotten to use it yet but I know it’ll be great,” I replied, “We need to talk Danse.”   
“Yes, tell me about Shaun,” His voice turned serious like normal.   
“Remember how I told you that I had been on ice for ten years after they took him? Well...I was wrong. It had been sixty years. Shaun is an old man now,” I felt the tears hit my face.   
Danse brought a finger up to wipe the tears, “I’m sorry Olivia, but at least he is alive.”   
“For now. He is dying from a rare and aggressive cancer. I don’t know how much time he has left,” I choked on my own words.   
“I’m sorry,” Danse gave me an awkward hug.   
“There’s something else important I need to tell you. Do you trust me?” I asked.   
“Yes, with my life,” he answered.   
“Then will you believe what I’m going to tell you even if it sounds impossible?” I continued.   
“Affirmative,” he stated.   
“There’s no easy way to say this so I’m going to just say it outright. You’re a synth Danse,” I responded.   
“That’s not funny soldier,” He turned defensive.   
“I’m not joking. The Institute has a recall code for you. I know this is earth shattering, but I need you to just believe me and go to Diamond city or Sanctuary to wait for me to get back,” I pleaded.   
“You’re leaving already?” Danse was upset.   
“I have to and I can’t tell you why yet, but please believe me and go to safety. The Institute wants to collect you for intel on the Brotherhood. I can convince Shaun to call it off, but I need you to leave here in the meantime,” I continued.   
“Olivia, I don’t understand. No machine could feel what I feel for you,” his eyes looked wild, like he was starting to believe me.   
“Danse, please. Nick feels for me like you do. Synths have feelings just as anyone else would. But please, at least go to the Castle and stay with Preston for now,” I pushed.   
“I can’t leave my post here. Elder Maxson needs me here now. We’re almost ready to take on the Institute,” He pushed back.   
“Damnit Danse! Just trust me, please,” I looked to him through my tears.   
“I have to be here to plan for the attack,” He stood firm.   
“Danse you can’t attack the Institute,” I started.   
“Why not? That’s why we’re here soldier. That’s what this has all been for, our mission,” His voice raised to almost a yell.   
“BECAUSE I’M ABOUT TO RUN IT!” I hollered out of frustration.   
“What?” Danse whispered.   
“Shaun is the Director of the Institute, he appointed me his successor. I can shut down the synth production and turn it all around. We can be allies,” I lowered my voice.   
“They’re the enemy,” he stated.   
“And I will make them allies,” I countered, “you don’t trust me do you? After everything that happened today you not only don’t believe me, but you don’t have faith in me.”   
“You’re not making sense Olivia, you should see the doctor. You’re talking crazy,” Danse raised his hand to touch my face.   
I slapped his hand away, “Don’t. I can’t believe you right now. I get that what I’m saying sounds crazy, but have I ever done anything to make you not have trust in me?”   
“I do trust you, it’s just-”  
“No. If you do believe me, then go to one of the locations I mentioned while I’m gone. Goodbye Danse,” I grabbed my weapon off the table and darted out of the room, beelining for X6-88.


	51. Super Size Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting to write this since chapter one

X6-88 and I made it to the edge of the glowing sea via vertibird. He kept his eyes trained on the ground. I’m sure that if he was to show an emotion, it would have been wonder. I, on the other hand, am terrified of heights and had to keep from vomiting the whole flight. I took a few minutes sitting on the ground to let my stomach settle. 

“Are you alright ma’am?” He asked, offering a hand to help me up.  
I took the offer, “Yes, just a little flight sickness is all. I could tell you enjoyed being up there though.”  
“It brought me no discomfort. It was a great vantage point,” he remarked.  
“Ever the killing machine I see,” I laughed at him.  
“Did I say something funny?” He questioned, almost sounding confused.  
“Not particularly, I just find you amusing is all. It’s a good thing,” I smiled at him, reaching a hand up to pat his arm.  
“Do you wish to train some more, ma’am?” X6-88 asked because I touched him.  
“Oh no. The pat was something friends do, a physical sign of friendship I would say,” I tried to explain.  
“Interesting,” He stated.  
“Do you have any friends back at the Institute?” I asked as we headed to the Brotherhood checkpoint.  
“No. Synths don’t have friends,” He stated matter of factly.  
“Well that’s just not true,” I replied.  
“Hm?” X6-88 raised an eyebrow.  
“You’re a synth and I’m your friend, so at least one synth has a friend,” I countered.  
“Is that so?” He wasn’t asking me anything. 

The checkpoint was just ahead. I had the recall code memorized and staged X6-88 behind a few thick trees. I walked cautiously to the knight on duty, introducing myself and making up a story as to why the target needed to come with me. Thankfully, the man didn’t question a paladin walking in without prior approval because paladins have the right to wander. I came in under the guise that I was scouting the area alone for any synths and found one running in this direction. 

As expected, the target knight offered to assist in the search. I pointed him in the direction that X6-88 went. I made sure I stayed within eyesight of the other soldiers to not draw suspicion when the flashing blue light of the teleporter flashed behind us. The men ran to the sight, finding nothing but the man’s dog tags. I left them on a vow to kill the synth that took the man.  
I know X6-88 will get suspicious if I’m gone too long, but I need to go see Virgil. Now that the teleporter is at my disposal, I should be able to drop in close to his cave without giving his position away. I turned on the teleporting link on my pip-boy and set the coordinates for about a quarter-mile away from the rocky cave. I popped a few rad-x’s and pressed the button to go. In a flash of light and a blink of an eye, I was deep inside the green fog of the glowing sea. I could make out the mountainside that Virgil’s cave was located at, but not any possible hostiles. 

I was careful to watch my step as I made my way to the cave. I moved as quickly as I could as I didn’t want to be out here long. My Geiger counter was going crazy and sure to cause attention. I could hear some heavy footsteps as I closed in on the location, but I couldn’t make out where they were at. 

I was just ten feet away from the cave when footsteps stopped and a roar emitted from the area above me. I paused in fear, that roar all too familiar. It landed in front of the cave and nearly on top of me. I screamed and attempted to shoot its eyes out. One eye was melted by the plasma from my rifle, but the rest of its face remained unharmed by the rounds. The deathclaw swung its foot-long claws at me, I tried to jump back but the hit still landed. I fell backward, my armor on my chest broken. If I wasn’t wearing the chest piece, I would be dead now. 

I watched in horror as it stepped closer to me, as though enjoying smelling the fear radiating off me. When I fell my weapon slid across the ground, out of arm’s reach. There was nothing I could do as the monster made its advance toward me. I glanced down at my own body, blood turning the cream suit red from my chest. The wounds were deep, but not enough to kill me. Part of me wished it did for all the pain it was causing. So much for my adrenaline blocking the pain. 

I did nothing as the deathclaw opened its mouth above my head, its teeth each several inches long. I could make out the beats of my heart pounding toward myself. It almost sounded like running. I closed my eyes before the beast could end me, but it didn’t. Instead, there was a bellowing from behind the deathclaw and two big green hands pulled its head away from my body. Virgil had heard my scream and ventured out of safety to me. 

I watched as he placed one hand on its lower jaw and the other on upper teeth, ripping the beast’s mouth clear open. Its jaw made an eerie snapping noise and hung to the face only by the skin. Even though the deathclaw would die from this grave wound, it didn’t just lay down and take it like I was. No, it swung a hand at Virgil. Its claws sank into his chest deep enough to have blood pouring from the wound. Virgil yelled then rushed the animal, ramming it into the rocky walls. I grabbed my rifle and blasted a round on its head, this time melting it, before the deathclaw could raise its hand to Virgil again. 

“Virgil!” I exclaimed and ran to him.  
He pointed a finger to my chest, “You’re hurt.”  
“So are you big guy,” I pointed to his chest, “Come on let’s get inside, I have my medical supplies.” 

I treated Virgil while my adrenaline had finally kicked in and dulled my pain. He sat on his makeshift wire bed as I ran a wet cloth over his gashes. He stiffened under my touch but made no complaints. Silently I worked to stitch the sides of the skin back together. It must have taken about half an hour to finish the last of his wound. 

“I appreciate you saving me, risking your life like that,” I tucked a hair behind my ear.  
“I heard your scream,” He replied.  
“Exactly. You ran out there and heroically saved the damsel in distress. I must offer you a reward like they did in the old days,” I moved toward his face.  
He furrowed his brow, “What’s that?”  
I planted a kiss on his cheek then returned to sitting on the stack of gas canisters I was using as a stool, “A kiss, just like in the stories my mom used to read to me.” I laughed, suddenly very aware of the pain in my own chest. 

I doubled over and gripped at my chest. It stung like a million wasps inside of my skin. The bleeding hadn’t completely stopped either. 

Virgil brought a hand onto my shoulder, “Are you okay Olivia?”  
“Yeah I’m just a little banged up. I think I need a few stitches too,” I said as I began removing my armor and unzipping my suit.  
Virgil turned his face from me in an effort to give me privacy, “I can leave the room if you’d like.”  
“Oh no you’re fine here. I’d prefer being close to you after what just happened outside. You don’t need to turn your head either, I’m not stripping all the way down,” I laughed again, regretting it.  
“Okay,” He looked back at me, his eyes growing a little wider as I was sitting with everything but nipples exposed.  
I touched around the area to assess the damage, “This may look bad, but it’s far from the worst I’ve been through.”  
“I have a hard time imagining what you must have been through for this to be far from the worst for you,” He handed me the wet rag.  
“Oh I've got stories for days. I’ve literally almost died more times than I can remember,” I smiled at him, “I’m just glad you’re okay.”  
“Yes, I am surprised at myself,” Virgil stated.  
“Speaking of surprises,” I started stitching myself up, “did you know that Shaun was my son?”  
“Yes and no. I knew Father had been brought to the institute as a baby, but he was so much older than you I didn’t connect the dots that he was your son,” He looked at the ground as he spoke.  
“It’s okay. He’s dying by the way. I’m not sure where you stood with him, but he’s got cancer. Pretty fucked up situation,” I began to tear up.  
“I’m sorry, Olivia,” He awkwardly brought a hand up to offer to me, but canceled the motion halfway through.  
“Why do you do that? I’m not offended by touching,” I offered.  
“I’m a monstrosity,” he replied, looking at both his hands.  
I sandwiched his hands in mine, “You don’t offend me Virgil.”  
He smiled a bit, “Really?”  
“Not one bit. Speaking of which,” I reached my hand in my bag, “I brought this back for you.”  
I handed him the vial, “You really found it!” He shot up like a rocket.  
“Of course, I wouldn’t lie to you. It’s because of you I found my son. I owed you that, and now I owe you my life,” I stood up to meet him, placing a hand on his muscled arm, “I’ll pay you back for that too.”  
“This is enough,” Virgil pushed the needle under his skin and depressed the syringe.  
“So how long should this take?” I questioned.  
“About a week if it works,” He was still smiling.  
“Would it help if I stayed here in case something backfires?” I asked.  
“No, I will be fine. I’m sure you have other things to do instead of sitting around with an old super mutant scientist,” He responded.  
“You’d be surprised,” I looked at him fully, “You know there is something I’m curious about, but it’s a bit of a sensitive subject.”  
“I enjoy talking about my research,” Virgil said to me.  
“Yeah well this has to do with you and probably isn’t in your studies,” I felt embarrassed for what I was about to ask.  
“You have my attention,” he stood waiting for me.  
“So supermutants are sterile?” I started.  
“Yes, and by extent, I am too now. Radiation damage,” He answered.  
“But being sterile doesn’t necessarily mean your testosterone production is down,” I continued.  
“Correct. Supermutants have increased hormone production from normal humans.” He replied.  
“So then...do you get uh-aroused? Is that possible?” I felt my cheeks redden.  
Virgil choked on air, “Do I get? Why would you want to know that?”  
“Just curious,” I shrugged.  
“Curiosity killed the cat,” He countered.  
“But satisfaction brought it back,” I replied, feeling something I really shouldn’t be given that I just nearly died.  
“I-I can get...you know,” He brought a hand to his head and rubbed it.  
“Interesting,” I responded, the emotions running through me stimulating some areas that I shouldn’t be thinking about. “Do you mind if I stay here longer to rest up? I want to let this stimpak work its magic before I head out.”  
“Of course. Do you need food? I have some scorpion that I roasted,” He offered.  
“I lost my appetite for food, unfortunately. I think some sleep is all I need,” I replied.  
“You may use my bed,” Virgil said.  
“Thank you,” I climbed onto the wire and laid down. Wire beat laying on the dirt.  
…

“I woke up about four hours later, the stimpak having sealed up the skin on my chest enough that I would be able to take off the stitches within the next two days. My chest no longer hurt and I had almost full range of motion. Virgil was sitting by his campfire eating. He hadn’t noticed that I was up yet, so I took the opportunity to really look at him. I hate to admit it, but I’ve always had a bit of a size fetish so he was the embodiment of the kink. I wanted to know how he would work and what it would look like if he was on me. I think the extreme emotional roller coaster I’ve been on today has left me feeling frisky. I’ve always been like this though. I let my mind wander about how it would feel to be stretched out by him before he returned to his human form. 

“Everything okay?” Virgil asked me.  
“Yes, I was just thinking,” I could feel heat flow to either end of my body. Why the hell am I like this?  
“Does it have to do with your curiosity?” He asked me.  
“Unfortunately,” I replied.  
“Is there something I can do for you?” He questioned, something behind his tone.  
“Yes, although I don’t want to ask for it,” I answered, “It’s a bit shameful.”  
“Oh?” He responded, “This I need to hear.”  
“Have you ever thought about if supermutants participate in coitus even though they’re sterile and as far as we know only male?” I asked.  
“Is sex all you think about?” He replied.  
“Only after a heroic rescue, it tends to get the blood flowing as it were,” I winked at him.  
“You can’t be serious. I’m a disgusting super mutant and easily big enough to crush you without trying,” He countered.  
“You can’t tell me that you’ve been studying FEV for years and never thought about that,” I replied.  
“I-a few times, but never while being a supermutant,” Virgil said.  
“Well, are you now?” I asked.  
“Yes,” he answered.  
“And?” I pushed.  
“I am curious too,” He replied.  
“See, we’re all scientists here just being curious about things,” I started, “Now the real question is, do you want to test that curiosity?”  
“That wouldn’t be safe for you Olivia,” he stated.  
“Calculated risks I’m willing to take,” I teased.  
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to you,” Virgil admitted.  
I walked over to him, “Then there shouldn’t be a problem then?”  
“I want to, but are you sure?” He asked.  
“I’m sure,” I rubbed a hand up his densely muscled stomach.  
His skin twitched at the sensation, “You make an...interesting proposal.”  
I brought a leg up on his thigh, “Don’t I?”  
“This would create a new avenue of my research,” He ran a single finger up my leg.  
“Sounds like a mutually beneficial proposal to me.” I placed a hand on his.  
“Seems so,” Virgil agreed. 

I took charge, leading him to his makeshift bed. I had him sit on the edge and climbed on top of him. He didn’t touch me without being led, clearly afraid of hurting me. I placed a kiss on his thick neck and moved his hands onto my back and waist. He slowly moved them up and down. The size difference was enough to send jolts of electricity through my body, the excitement killing me. I was beyond aroused at this taboo act. 

I climbed back down, taking notice of the half erection under his pants. I tried being seductive by slowly unzipping my suit and sliding it off my shoulders, my back to him. I took a glance at him and he was intensely following my every movement. I bent over to peel the suit off of me. When I turned around to face Virgil, his erection at full mast. 

I brought myself back to his lap, sitting on him in only my bra and underwear. Without direction, he fumbled sliding down my bra straps. I knew his fingers were too big for the simple task of unfastening it, so I did it for him. His breath remained calm as he rubbed a thick thumb across my hardened nipples. 

I moaned softly at the roughness of skin. It felt almost like leather. I arched my back, offering my breasts to him. He leaned down and took one breast into his mouth. His movements were sloppy, but I didn’t mind. I’m not sure if he had any bedroom experience before this, so I kept my judgments to a minimum. 

I brought my arms around his thick neck and ground myself against his erection. His breath grew heavier and he moved a hand to my ass. It spanned across from one side to the other, his squeezing hard enough to leave a bruise. The mild pains just made it all better. 

“I don’t think I can keep holding back,” He told me, taking his attention off of my breasts.  
“Then don’t,” I replied. 

Virgil seemed to have something behind his eyes change. He slid his hand to my underwear, needing assistance to remove it. I watched as he took his index finger and slowly inserted it into me. His fingers alone were roughly the size of some of the men I’ve been with. I could feel myself soak at the idea of how big his penis must be compared to his fingers. I bottomed out on his hand and rocked my hips slightly to match the curling of his finger. This was successfully relaxing my walls to prepare for what would happen next. 

My breathing became uncoordinated as I leaned my head onto his shoulder and bounced on his hand. He placed his free hand on my back, covering over half of it. I could feel myself growing close to climax and told him so. He picked up his pace and pulled an orgasm out of me. I rattled as he withdrew his hand, licking his finger. 

He freed his erection from his torn pants and picked me up by the waist. He slowly moved me down toward himself. The head of his penis brushed against my sex. I braced my hands on his shoulders again and let him lower me some more onto him. 

I could feel myself begin to stretch to accommodate his girth. Thankfully I was plenty wet from the first orgasm. I opened my legs and planted my feet onto the bed. Virgil lowered me again, this time getting halfway down his shaft. I could feel a stinging sensation as my walls protested the size of Virgil. I wiggled myself down until I bottomed out. He was pressed against my cervix and an orgasm was forced out of me at the sensation. 

“Are you normally this easy to please?” He groaned as I clamped down on him.  
“Not quite this easy,” I said through rough breath.  
“I never made a woman finish this easily before,” He began to thrust himself into me.  
I moaned as he brushed against every square inch of me, “Are you enjoying it?”  
“Very much,” He grumbled and picked up the pace. 

I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle it when he began to push me down and pull me back up to match his thrusting. My waist felt sore at the pressure, but I could barely notice as the bliss overtook me. My head rolled back and I could feel the drool begin to drip out the corner of my mouth. 

Without any warning, Virgil rolled me onto the bed. The wire pressed into my back as he relentlessly began to pound into me. I would be walking funny for weeks at this rate. I called out his name as he kept bottoming out into me. I felt orgasms rake inside me back to back as he ravaged my G-spot. It wasn’t long before Virgil called out my name and came inside me. His seed warm, flowing out as he withdrew himself. 

“I’m so sorry, I couldn’t pull myself out because you were too tight,” He grabbed a rag and tried to wipe up the semen. 

I only mumbled as I spasmed from the aftershock of the overstimulation. This was, by far, the best I’ve ever felt physically from sex. I was sore from the waist down and pretty sure I couldn’t move right now. Drool was still dripping out of my mouth and every nerve was pulsating. 

“Are you okay?” Virgil asked, having finished cleaning me off.  
“Never been better,” I could feel my stitches burning now but I couldn’t care less.  
“How was it?” He questioned, cleaning himself off now.  
“That was some of the best sex of my life Virgil. It’s almost a shame that you aren’t staying a mutant,” I laughed.  
“I’ll be able to do more intricate things for you once I’m human again,” He countered.  
“Oh, so you want more?” I asked.  
“Yes...is that possible?” He asked.  
“I think so,” I smiled, getting up and dressed.  
“Are you leaving?” He questioned.  
“Unfortunately I have to get back to the Institute before they start getting suspicious,” I answered.  
“I understand. Be safe out there,” He said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> keep an eye out for some supermutant one-shots on my page in the coming months


	52. Sparring Partner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A return to the Institue

“It’s good to have you back ma’am,” X6-88 said to me, meeting me at the teleporter.  
“It’s good to be back,” I replied, following him to Shaun.  
“How is the synth?” I asked.  
“Being rehabilitated now, ma’am,” he answered.  
“And how are you?” I continued.  
“Me?” He questioned.  
“Yeah, how are you feeling? Is everything okay with you? I haven’t seen you several hours now, I thought I’d ask,” I explained.  
“I see. I am functioning adequately ma’am,” He replied.  
“That’s not what I meant, but I’m glad everything is functional,” I stopped pushing.  
“Are you injured, ma’am?” He looked me up and down.  
“How could you tell?” I touched my scarred chest.  
“Your walking is...different. Almost like a limp,” He said, “What happened?”  
“Deathclaw charged me,” I spun a convenient truth, my face feeling warmer.  
“Your face is red, are you sick?” X6-88 stopped walking and raised a hand to my forehead, testing for a fever.  
“No, I’m not sick,” I laughed at the sincerity of his movements, “thank you for asking though.” Truthfully, I was just thinking about my tussle with Virgil and how I would be walking funny like this for a while. 

We walked into Shaun’s room where he was laid up in a hospital-like bed. His face was worn and he looked more aged than he did when I left. I have seen this look in his eyes before, the eyes of a dying man. His cancer was getting worse. 

“Ah, Mother,” Shaun raised his hands up toward me, “I hope that X6-88 proved useful.”  
“Very much so,” I replied, “He is very impressive.”  
“Thank you, ma’am,” X6-88’s voice sounded a little softer.  
“Now that you’re back and the synth is being taken care of, it’s time I showed you what the Institute plans for its future. The future that you will lead.” Shaun started, “We have plans for a nuclear reactor, which will provide us with enough power to no longer need to rely on the surface. Complete independence, underground.”  
“That’s remarkable son,” I responded.  
“I hate to ask you for another favor, especially when it means putting my own mother in harm’s way,” Shaun paused, “But I need you to get the beryllium agitator we need from Mass Fusion. X6-88 will be accompanying you, he will serve as your personal guard indefinitely.”  
“I can protect myself, you know,” I put a hand on his.  
“I know, but I would like you to have some added protection. Your transition to being Director will not be a smooth one,” He said gravely. “When you get back with the agitator, you will be the acting Director and I will be stepping down. I know you will make me proud.”  
“I’m not so sure our visions for the future are the same Shaun, but I will do my best,” I replied.  
“That’s all I can ask of you mother,” he responded. “Now, I believe you have some things to attend to before you leave.”  
“Yes, a little medical attention would be nice,” I smiled heading out of his room, my chest feeling tight.  
“I will be here when you get back. Speak to Allie Filmore before you leave.” He waved to me.  
…

“Well you’re lucky you had on our armor, or this would’ve been a deadly wound,” The doctor said to me, cleaning up the gashes on my chest. X6-88 didn’t show any emotion but was intently watching the doctor’s moves. “And you said a Deathclaw did this? Glad I’m here and not up there.”  
“Yeah, it’s tough out there. This wasn’t my first tango with a Deathclaw though,” I replied.  
“You have faced many of them, ma’am?” X6-88 asked, almost sounding surprised or impressed.  
“Yeah, a handful of times now. I’ve gotten lucky each time,” I looked down at the marks on my chest and the bullet scar on my stomach that was finally starting to fade.  
“You have been more than lucky, you have skill,” X6-88 said.  
“Now you’re just flattering me,” I smiled at him, drawing a disgusted look from the doctor who had just finished up. “Thanks, doc,” I said, putting my shirt back on and making my way to Allie.  
…

Allie told me the layout of Mass Fusion and is going to meet us there. I'm worried about her safety, but she doesn’t seem to be. I began stripping out of my clothes, X6-88 standing by the door of my room. He watched, but I didn’t mind. I stepped into my shower and let the water flow over me. It’s warm embrace reminding me of Yefim’s big hugs. I took my time lathering up my body and hair, the dirt coming off of me visible. I pulled back the door of the shower, X6-88 handing me a towel. 

“You’re such a gentleman,” I teased.  
“I am not gentle,” He protested.  
“You’ll have to show me sometime,” I replied, drying off.  
“Is that a...sexual joke?” X6-88 hesitated.  
“Yes, actually. I didn’t think you knew what that was,” I dried off my hair.  
“My observations show that you are someone that has a very sexual lifestyle, so I have been learning where those kinds of jokes pop up,” He explained.  
“I’ve always been someone who was open about her sexuality. What about you though? Any sexual thoughts?” I questioned.  
“I am not programmed for them,” He dodged.  
“That doesn’t mean you can’t develop them later. You’re an organic being X6,” I countered.  
“Is that the nickname you chose for me, ma’am?” He asked.  
“Yes, it is. X6-88 is a mouthful of numbers. It takes away some humanity, don’t you think?” I answered.  
“No. I’m a synth, not a human.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.  
“Well you look human enough to me,” I said as I slid into clean scrubs.  
“It would do you well to not think of me as human, ma’am. It can make working with me confusing,” He replied.  
“Don’t worry X6, I’m not confused,” I looked to that expressionless face of his.  
“Good,” He said. 

I finished getting dressed and we made our way to the cafeteria. I managed to scarf down the food supplement before there was a big commotion in the center of the Institute, people blocking the elevator. They were making some sort of protest. X6-88 stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder keeping me down and the other on his rifle. 

“Don’t get up ma’am, they are protesting you,” He stated.  
“Well if they have a problem with me, I should be the one to address them...don’t you think?” I asked.  
“But it’s a big threat to your safety,” He countered.  
“Everywhere is a threat, that’s what I have you for right?” I questioned, brushing his hand off of me and standing up.  
“This is not advisable ma’am. The coursers can handle this,” He kept close on my heels, his weapon drawn.  
“Oh X6, you are going to have to learn to have some faith in me,” I turned my head to wink at him.  
“I don’t have faith, I guide myself with logic,” X6-88 stated.  
“I tend to rely on my emotions personally,” I replied as we reached the protesters.  
“WE DEMAND THIS THREAT BE REMOVED!” One man exclaimed.  
“SHE’S A THREAT TO US ALL! SHE’S AN OUTSIDER!” A woman screamed and pointed at me, drawing the attention of onlookers.  
“What’s the problem here?” I raised my voice above the murmurs of the crowds.  
“You are our problem! You shouldn’t be here and you shouldn’t be our Director. We don’t know you,” The man threw his hands in the air.  
“Well...what do you want to know?” I asked the angry man.  
“Ma’am, we can handle this,” a courser said with his weapon out, two others behind him aimed at the protesters.  
“That’s not necessary,” I put a hand on his chest, “I can take care of this.” He nodded and took a step back.  
“I said, what do you want to know? What can I tell you that would make you more comfortable and end this display?” I questioned.  
“Uh,” the man clearly did not expect to be asked this, “there isn’t anything you could say to make this okay.”  
“Then your problem isn’t not knowing me if you refuse my offer to know me, so what is your real problem?” I challenged.  
The woman took charge, “Because you aren’t one of us!”  
“Well, technically I am now. Got a little badge on my shirt here,” I popped the collar of my shirt.  
“You know what I mean!” She yelled at me.  
“Do I? Does anyone listening to you know, or are you just scared of change and hope to get others to follow your lead?” I countered.  
“I-I know you can’t be the best leader for us. You’re not even a scientist!” She dug in her heels.  
“You are aware I’m a doctor from a time where there were really universities and licensing exams? Or did you actually not do your research before wasting these people’s time?” The woman didn’t respond. “That’s what I thought. So why don’t you all come sit down with me in the cafeteria over some nuka cola and we can have a civil chat?” I turned and walked back to my seat. 

The protesters slowly looked to each other and disbanded, with the two ring leaders following me to the cafeteria. X6-88 told me he was sorry for underestimating me. The three courses followed the rest of the protesters to their respective dormitories. I sat and answered questions for a few hours before they were satisfied with my answers. They seemed a little more comfortable with me at the end of it all. X6-88 and I went over to the retention bureau to test out some new rifles that the coursers will be getting equipped with. 

“Nice shooting ma’am,” X6-88 said to me as I took out all four targets in front of me. The plasma in this new rifle moved as fast as a laser round but was much more powerful. The targets were made of a synthetic flesh that melted when struck. The next rounds were moving targets, with the targets being gen 1 synths. I meticulously took them down one by one by shooting and subsequently melting one of the legs. Then I disabled them with shots to the head. 

“Would you like more hand to hand combat training ma’am?” X6-88 asked me.  
I could feel a little flutter at the idea of being so close and intimate with him again, “Sure.” 

We found a space where there were few people, just the occasional courser walking by. X6-88 took off his coat and folded it neatly before placing it on the floor. Without warning he raced toward me, throwing a left hook. I managed to dodge it at the last possible moment but fell backward in the process. I felt the wind knock out of me, but I didn’t have time to focus on it as X6-88 threw another punch at me. I rolled away and hopped to my feet, taking the defensive pose that he had taught me during our last training. 

“That was good ma’am,” He said to me.  
“Thank you, I have a good teacher,” I winked at him.  
“Now this time, you attack me,” he instructed. 

I ran toward him, taking note of his hands. I was at a disadvantage, not just from experience, but because I couldn’t see his eyes. I faked left and threw a right, X6-88 catching my hand. He then proceeded to swipe a foot under me, sending me to the floor. 

“Okay ouch,” I said as I rubbed my butt.  
X6-88 extended a hand to me, helping me up, “You should keep your guard up for counter-attacks.”  
“Easier said than done,” I replied, “Let’s try this again.” 

I took X6-88’s hand and he pulled me up with ease. I watched the muscles of his biceps twitch at the movement. We had begun to draw a crowd of courser onlookers.

“Put your hands out like this,” He took a stance much like the boxers on tv.  
“Alright,” I copied him.  
“Now when you strike,” He tossed a hand out, “keep your other hand ready to block.”  
“Got it,” I mimicked him. 

I approached X6-88 again, raising my hands as he instructed. I threw a right again, but this time I dropped to the ground and swiped my leg out to bring him to the ground. My trick worked. X6-88 caught himself as he fell, the slightest hint of a smile on his face. 

“That was good ma’am,” He said to me.  
“I try,” I shrugged, taking up my pose again. 

We were going at it for hours before Ayo came in and complained. Before heading back to my room we stopped by to visit with Shaun. I got to tell him some of my stories in the waste and before the bombs fell. I was sure to leave out the sexual escapades. It was bittersweet being around him. Knowing I did what I set out to do, but I was just too late. I tucked myself into the bed and turned to see X6-88 take his usual seat facing the door. His rifle in his hands. 

“Goodnight X6,” I cooed to him.  
“Goodnight ma’am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mass Fusion quest next, intense fighting to come


	53. Mass Fusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lots of violence for your reading pleasure

I woke up to X6-88 laying out my armor and cream suit. I could tell he spent some of the night cleaning it up and hunted for a new suit as my old one got ripped up by that deathclaw. He doesn’t mean to convey any feelings, but he is really sweet. It makes me wonder how much of what he does is just programmed and what he is doing on his own volition. Regardless, I was always thankful for his help. 

After getting changed I sat down in front of my vanity and looked at my hair. It had already started growing back. X6-88 watched thoughtfully as I ran my fingers through my hair for detangling. I was taking my time because I knew I would be topside for a while, and having my hair up and tight would work best for the combat situation we would be going into. Who knew what was at Mass Fusion? Raiders? Ghouls? Big ass bugs? 

“I don’t understand why you’re doing that ma’am,” X6-88 broke my train of thought.   
“Detangling my hair?” I asked.   
“No, why bother with it. Why not just shave it off? It would be more practical in a fight,” He stated.   
“It’s not meant to be practical. Think of it as an extension of myself, my identity,” I started, “Just as you would see your rifle like an extension of yourself.”   
“I understand the analogy, but wouldn’t you rather not bother with hair every morning?” He questioned.   
“Sometimes, but in my time people with hair like yours and mine would be discriminated against for it. There were laws that had to be passed just to let us wear our hair how it came out of our heads. Part of me wants to never forget that and live my best in spite of it all,” I explained.   
“So humans discriminated against themselves for their hair,” He replied,   
“It was discrimination based on skin tone, the hair was a target,” I began to braid my hair, “You’re human too by the way.”   
“I am a synth,” He responded.   
“Sure, but still as human as me,” I smiled at his reflection. His face didn’t change. 

I stood up to get a full 180 of myself before grabbing my rifle to head out. I looked rough, but more well-rested. Part of me felt guilty for living so comfortably while people were starving topside. We made our way to the teleporter, stopping to say bye to Shaun along the way. 

…

“Ma’am, we have a situation,” X6-88 whispered to me as we hid behind a half crumbled wall. 

The Brotherhood caught wind of our trip and was here. I couldn’t really fight against them, could I? If it got out that I killed these men, I would forever be an enemy of the Brotherhood. There had to be another way. 

“What do you want to do, ma’am?” X6-88 asked, his rifle to his chest.   
“I have an idea-wait, where is Allie?” I asked.   
X6-88 peaked around the corner then faced me, shaking his head.   
“She’s dead?” I questioned.   
“Yes ma’am, as are all her synth guards,” He answered.   
“Fuck. Okay, put your weapon down and follow my lead. Be ready though, they may not know me,” I stepped up from my position and called out to the soldiers.   
“Hold,” I was commanded by the Paladin leader.   
“It’s okay, I’m Paladin Olivia. I’m here with my friend,” I motioned toward X6-88, “I caught wind of what was happening here and came right away.”   
“I don’t know a Paladin Olivia,” The paladin trained his minigun at me.   
“Maybe you’d know me by Najera Navarro?” I tried.   
“No. How did you get up here? The entrance is sealed,” His tone turned sharp.   
I was suddenly aware of my outfit, entirely covered in synth parts, “That’s actually a funny story. You see Elder Maxson asked me to come here and- fuck. NOW X6-88!” 

I jumped for cover behind another damaged wall, the minigun spraying bullets. X6-88 fired his rifle like lightning, taking out two scribes before ducking behind a metal wall. The paladin yelled for backup, keeping his gun aimed at me. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. With shaky hands, I pulled a grenade off my belt and pulled the pin. I popped out of cover long enough to throw it at the minigun. I nearly caught a bullet on the way back down. Thankfully, miniguns have a delay after you pull the trigger, otherwise, I would have lost my head. 

The grenade took off the leg components of the paladin’s power armor, but didn’t stop him from raining bullets at me. Pieces of the wall crumbled around me from the force. This time I grabbed a synth grenade and threw it behind the paladin. He laughed thinking I missed until the bolt of the teleporter fired behind him. A gen 2 synth had appeared and was firing at will at the paladin. It gave me the opening I needed to rapid-fire at his helmet. It melted with the second hit and hit the ground with a thud on the third round. The synth turned its attention at the other knights, not in power armor. I ran from cover to where X6-88 was, dodging bullets. 

“Olivia,” X6-88 sounded a little relieved.   
“Oooo first name basis?” I smiled at him.   
“You’re hit ma’am,” He reached a hand up to my face, pulling out a small piece of shrapnel.   
“Fuck,” I touched the area, blood on my fingers.   
“It is a shallow wound,” He assured me.  
“Thanks for being worried X6,” I replied, he said nothing but turned and fired at the remaining soldiers. 

My synth was out of commission. Thankfully there were only two remaining men that X6-88 and I took out easy, making a dramatic exit from cover. I ran over to Allie’s body, throwing myself on the ground. I shook her. 

“Allie! Are you with us?” I rolled her over.   
She took a rattled breath, “Olivia?”   
I took her hands in mine, “Yes I’m here. I’m going to get you back to the Institute.” X6-88 signaled for the teleporter.   
“Wait, take this key card. It will get you in, but they’re everywhere in there,” She warned me.   
“Thanks, Allie, now get home and don’t die.” She teleported out.   
“Alright, down the big scary elevator we go,” I said to X6-88.   
X6-88 walked to the elevator first, waiting on me then swiping the keycard, “Be cautious, there will be enemies.”   
“Yea, I know,” I replied, putting a fresh cartridge in my rifle. 

The severity of our situation became very clear as we lowered into the building. There were Brotherhood soldiers everywhere. We were severely outnumbered. Not even a courser could make it through this alive. We needed to come up with a plan quickly before they noticed us. 

“Do you want to try introducing yourself again?” X6-88 asked.   
“I didn’t know you were programmed for sarcasm X6,” I replied, “but yes, it’s the only way we can get out of this alive.”   
“And if it fails like last time?” He questioned.   
“Then we make a break for the lower levels and hope we can shut ourselves in, buy us some time,” I explained.   
“I will trust you,” He said.   
“Thanks X6. I trust you too,” I patted his arm. 

A bolt from a laser rifle broke the moment as it whizzed past my head. X6-88 immediately fired at the man, killing him with a round melting his face. 

“What the FUCK,” I ducked down and fired at will.   
“They do not seem interested in knowing who we are,” He stated.   
“Mierda, mierda, mierda!” I repeated, trying to aim.   
“I don’t know those words,” X6-88 said calmly, hitting most of his targets.   
“I’ll teach you all the Spanish you want if we make it out of here,” I replied. “Hijo de perra!” I exclaimed as I took a hit to the arm between my synth pads. 

We were fish in a barrel as the elevator made its slow descent. X6-88 had also taken a few hits to the arm and legs. We only downed five men so far, with about ten more left. To make it worse, the elevator snagged about fifteen feet from the floor. 

“X6,” I started as I kept my eyes on my next target, “You could handle that jump. I can hold their attention and you can make it down to the agitator.”   
“I won’t leave you to die, ma’am,” He stated.   
“But the Institute needs this, you can get it to them,” I countered.   
“My job is to protect you Oli- ma’am,” X6-88 stumbled.   
“I don’t think this is something we can both walk away from,” I pushed.   
“Then maybe it is my turn to plan,” He replied, “You said you trust me?”   
“With my life,” I responded.   
“We’re both going down,” X6-88 said. 

Before I could ask what the plan was or what exactly he meant, X6-88 tossed me over his shoulder and lept to the ground. Just like some sort of superhero he kept firing at the enemies the whole way down and while bolting for the set of stairs by the elevator. I managed to get a few shots off before we made it to the stairwell. X6-88 was moving at twice the speed I would have been able to manage. We made it to the lower level and, as though by miracle, there was a lock on the door. 

X6-88 let me down, “That was crazy!”   
“I calculated the risk of the fall was low and I was correct,” He said nonchalantly.   
I hugged him, “Thank you.”   
“I believe we have an agitator to find,” He cleared his throat.   
“Of course,” I withdrew from him. 

We searched the room to find a way into the big tank that housed the agitator. My Geiger counter started ticking as I approached the glass. There was definitely a lot of radiation in the room, thankfully I had some Rad-X on me. X6-88 found the door controls. 

“Alright, so one of us has to stay here to operate the door controls while the other goes into the radiated tank,” I stated, thinking what would be best.   
“I will go, the radiation will not affect me as it would you,” He made his way to the door.   
“No arguing this?” I asked.   
“No,” He replied.   
“Alright, let’s get this going,” I sat behind the door control terminal. 

The first door opened and a decontamination sequence followed. The second door opened then closed behind him. I watched intently as he made his way up all the stairs and disconnected the agitator from the huge machine it was attached to. I wish Allie was here for this part. 

Just as X-6-88 took out the agitator an alarm went off. Flashing red lights took over the room. I quickly opened the first sequence of doors, X6-88 running down the stairs. Two security doors opened, one had two sentry bots and the other two assaultrons. This was going to be the end of the line for me. There was no way anyone could survive all four of them. I hid under the desk. The securitron had scanners searching the room and the assaultrons had their focus on X6-88. 

They would find me eventually, so I had to make the first move. I grabbed one of the two frag grenades I had on me and tossed it between the robots. I could feel the force of the explosion through the desk. I could hear X6-88 yelling something to me and it occured to me that he was locked in the tank. I popped up to press the button to open the door, but an assaultron leaped over the desk and tackled me hard to the ground. I could see little stars floating around my eyes, but managed to roll out from under it. I slammed the keyboard to let X6-88 in, seeing across the room that I blew the legs off the other assaultron and damaged one of the sentry bots. I was grabbed by the assaultron and thrown across the room. I could hear my skull crack against the wall. My rifle was out of my reach, so I grabbed at one of my synth grenades and tossed it at it. The assaultron registered it as a regular grenade and ran back as the gen 2 synth appeared in front of me. I crawled to my rifle at the desk and let the synth take all the heat from the security robots. 

I could hear X6-88 firing at the sentry bots. I moved slowly to the edge of the desk and took shots from cover. My head was pounding and my vision was blurred. X6-88 took out the crippled assaultron and was finishing up the damaged sentry bot. I kept my rounds on the legs of the second assaultron which had just finished the synth. I melted one leg and brought it to the ground, but this one was flashing light as though it was about to self-destruct. Just as I noticed this, X6-88 was being backed close to it from the sentry. I managed to bring myself to wobbly feet and race to him. Without much thought, I shoved X6-88 out of harm's way and took the blast for him. The last thing I remember was seeing him firing at the sentry, then it was black, then he was frowning at me, then I blinked and my head fell to the side. There it was, my right leg completely detached from my body on the floor surrounded with blood. Then I blacked out completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next couple of chapters will be longer than average because I have more time to write thanks to this quarantine


	54. A Surprise Proposal

“She is going to need our best cybernetics,” A man’s voice argued.   
“Surely there is a way to attach it with minimal robotics? You know how dangerous that procedure is,” A woman’s voice countered. 

I could hear, but my vision wasn’t there. My eyelids were too heavy to open and everything hurt so bad. My head was pounding like someone skewered my brain. 

“Director, we could give her the improved enhancements similar to what we gave Kellogg. With your permission, we’ll install them into the other leg too,” The man’s voice said.   
“It will be the only way her leg will work again, go ahead and do the enhancements.” Shaun’s voice gave the command.   
“Sir-” The lady started.   
“Do it,” Shaun cut her off.   
“What about the courser you assigned to her?” The woman continued.   
“Send him in for repairs, but don’t wipe his memories. I need a full report,” Shaun replied.   
“Understood sir,” the woman responded. 

I came in and out of consciousness during the procedure. Thankfully I was on some heavy pain killers and some anesthesia as all I could feel was the pressure on my legs, but not the pain. I felt someone holding my hand and I tried to open my eyes to see who it was but to no avail.   
…

I opened my eyes slowly. The lights above me were very bright and the walls all spotless white. I couldn’t feel the lower half of my body, but I could move my arms now. I slowly pulled myself up. 

“Woah don’t try to move too much,” Shaun said, sitting beside my bed.   
“What happened?” I started to remember the last parts of what happened in Mass Fusion.   
“You were at Mass Fusion and got severely injured. We had to use cybernetics to reattach your leg and still give you function,” He looked down at the ground, “I’m so sorry I sent you there without a full escort. I had no idea the Brotherhood would be there.”   
“It’s okay son, no one knew. Where’s X6?” I asked.   
“X6? Oh X6-88. He should be returning soon from interrogation. He claims you took the blast for him,” he said, not believing it.   
“I did,” I said.   
“Why would you do that? We have plenty of coursers,” He questioned.   
“I don’t think I could make you understand, but will never let a companion die if I can help it,” I said.   
“No, I don’t think you could make me understand it. Regardless, now you have enhancements to make your legs stronger and faster. You’ll be able to take falls three times that of regular people,” He listed.   
“That sounds cool,” I smiled.   
“Is there anything I can get you?” Shaun asked.   
“Just some water and my bodyguard back,” I answered.   
“Are you sure you don’t want a different courser?” He asked.   
“Very sure,” I replied. 

Shaun brought my water and retired to his quarters. It wasn’t long before X6-88 came to the recovery room to see me. 

“You shouldn’t have done that, ma’am,” He scolded, “I am disposable.”   
“You aren’t disposable X6,” I replied.   
“You almost died,” He countered.   
“But I didn’t,” I responded.   
“It was an unnecessary risk, ma’am,” He pushed.   
“It was a risk I took for a friend and it all turned out okay,” I countered, “Also, you don’t have to keep calling me ma’am. There’s no need to be so formal. We’ve shed blood together, for each other.”   
“Dr. Navarro, you were reckless. I don’t want you to do that again,” He caved.   
“Dr. Navarro? It was Olivia at Mass Fusion,” I challenged.   
“That was an error that I had corrected,” X6-88 said.   
“You have to take commands from me right?” I asked.   
“Yes,” he answered.   
“Then I command you to call me by my first name,” I smiled.   
“Yes, Olivia,” He sighed.   
“Control yourself X6. What am I to think with all this emotion you’re expressing,” I teased.   
He frowned, “Shit Olivia, you almost died.”   
“Yeah, but I’d do it again,” I replied.   
“You have a fractured skull, two broken ribs, and your leg was blown off,” He continued.   
I reached a hand out and grabbed his, “X6. I’d do it again. You're more than a friend to me.”   
“What’s more than a friend?” He questioned.   
“You’re a companion, and I always protect my companions,” I explained.   
“I do not think I will ever understand you,” he stated.   
“That’s okay, no one ever really has,” I said. 

I wasn’t really lying either. Nate knew me better than anyone else in the world, but even he struggled to really understand me. Preston has known me longer than any other person in the commonwealth and he doesn’t know me. Even Yefim, bless his heart, is trying to know me but he’s far from reaching that goal. Not even my own parents really understood me. Truthfully, I don’t fully understand myself yet. 

X6-88 and I ate together. He took up sitting beside me, facing the entrance of the room. He wasn’t going to let anyone hurt me like this. The doctor came into the room to explain my situation. He told me I should start physical therapy immediately, walking as much as possible. Typically it would be crazy to ask a patient to move around so soon, but the enhancements made me heal faster too. Even being a doctor, this was far out of my league. 

…

I spent the next week working with X6-88 on regaining balance and control of my legs. Everything still hurt even though I was at 80% functionality. I could even sprint for a short distance. There were some people I wanted to see. I needed to check in on Virgil, let Nick and Piper know I was okay, stop by Sanctuary, and find Danse. I could use Yefim’s tenderness too. 

“X6-88, I need to visit a friend alone,” I said to him.   
“That isn’t advisable,” He replied.   
“Good thing I wasn’t looking for advice. I’ll only be gone for several hours then I’ll be back. There are a lot of people who need to know I’m okay that I’ll take you to see,” I promised.   
“Yes ma’am,” He backed down. 

I slid on my favorite button-down white blouse that Shaun was kind enough to have bleached and cleaned properly. I carefully pulled a pair of black tights that X6-88 found for me while looking for some supplies. Apparently coursers trained in tights and leggings. It was nice to imagine X6-88’s ass in tights. Shaun gave me a pair of shoes that weren’t torn up. They were simple sneakers. I went to the teleporter, my hair down and curls popping.   
…

I walked into Virgil’s cave without any deathclaw incidents. Good thing too since I was still sore in my ribs. I announced myself before I entered his living area. A normal human voice responded. 

“Olivia? Come in! It worked!” Virgil exclaimed.   
“Really?” I shouted back, running in. 

Sure enough, the human Virgil was there. Standing in a lab coat. His hair had grown back a nice black color. He looked nothing like his supermutant self. 

“Wow it really did work,” I embraced him.   
He wrapped his arms around me tight, “It’s thanks to you, Olivia.”   
“Well you made the serum, I was just your delivery woman,” I laughed  
Virgil released me, “Don’t sell yourself short, you’re amazing.” He kissed me.   
“Oh, you want to just jump into this,” I laughed.   
“Is that too forward? I’m sorry,” He backed up.   
“No it’s fine, we already fucked once,” I replied, “I just figured you’d want to tell me more about...this.” I waved my hands up and down.   
“Ah yes. The only remarkable difference between how I was before and now is an increase in muscle density and strength,” he said.   
“I think I like the sound of that,” I teased.   
“Do you now?” He moved back to me, pulling me into him. 

He was only a few inches taller than me, surprisingly. I was sad to see the size difference gone. 

“Oh, I’m totally down with this but watch out for my legs. I just had surgery on them and I’m trying to keep it easy,” I explained.   
“Oh don’t worry, you don’t need to do anything but lay down,” He had me sit on the bed.   
“I like the sound of that,” I replied. 

He kissed down my neck, unbuttoning my blouse and running his hands on my chest. Good to see his fine motor skills were intact. Virgil kissed down to my stomach, licking around my belly button. He brought a hand down to stroke my legs. He was very gentle in touching me. He pulled off my shoes and tights, taking his time watching my skin reveal itself. I felt hot under his gaze. 

He kissed down my abdomen to one leg, then the other. He took off his own clothes to reveal an erection almost the size it was when he was a mutant. The size fetish is saved. Virgil paused as he saw the reattachment scar on my right leg, going all the way around my leg. 

“I see you had a rough day there,” He commented before returning to it. 

He kissed the scar all the way around before bringing his attention up to the mound under my panties. He slid them to the side and began to rub his thumb around my clit. He brought his other hand up to put a finger in me, curling and landing on the G-spot immediately. I gripped the sides of the bed frame from the sudden intense sensations. 

“Please, don’t hold anything in,” He smiled at me before putting another finger in. 

I began to moan softly as he was working his magic. He inserted another finger and brought his face up to me, licking around my labia and clit. His free hand slid under my ass and squeezed my cheeks. I rotated my hips up to him to offer a deeper angle. He withdrew his fingers, now very slick, and began to lap up the moisture from my sex. I trembled as he dug his tongue deeper into me, rotating it to touch every inch around the opening. My moaning got a little louder, drawing a laugh from Virgil. He stopped licking at me after a few minutes and stood up over me. His erection was slick with pre-cum. 

“Are you ready?” He asked me, pumping his cock.   
“Yes,” I blushed. 

He was painfully slow in inserting himself, bottoming out. I whimpered and pushed my hips against him. Virgil took the hint and started at a quick pace. His erection filled me entirely without being painful. He took his strokes seriously, making sure each was full. Virgil grabbed my breasts in his hands and thrust harder. 

I met his pace, feeling an orgasm on the cusp of spilling over. Virgil must have felt that I was close too as he plowed into me harder. He leaned down over me and thrust as hard as he could. My body trembled under him as my orgasm took over my body. Virgil came at the same time too, inside me. 

“Don’t worry,” He told me, “I’m sterile now.”   
“I wasn’t really worried anyways, I have fertility issues so any pregnancy is a miracle,” I laughed. “So, are you going to leave this cave? Do you need help getting out of the sea?”   
“I do need help, but I’m not ready to leave yet. Do you think, once you become Director, that I could come back to my lab?” He asked.   
“Of course Virgil,” I answered.   
“Thank you...for everything,” He replied.   
“Anytime. I hate to keep doing this to you, but I do need to head back. There’s a courser waiting on me,” I said.   
“I understand, don’t let me hold you up,” He handed me my clothes and hugged me before I left. 

…

“Alright X6, to Diamond City we go!” I said dramatically to my courser companion as we stepped into the teleporter.   
“You are strange,” He replied. 

We landed just outside of the city where the guards couldn’t see us. X6-88 got some weird looks as we walked into the city. He really did stick out like a sore thumb. I stopped by to see Arturo first to let him see my new rifle. He was mesmerized by the structure. I then headed to the Dugout, wanting to see Yefim before I talked with Nick and Piper. 

I walked into the doorway, Vadim seeing me before anyone else. He shouted my presence to the entire room, although only Yefim seemed to care. Yefim threw his newspaper down and darted over to give me a hug. I could see X6-88 tense up, but I warned him this would happen on the way here to avoid a messy accident. Yefim picked me up and swung me around, planting a kiss on my cheek as he put me back down. 

“I missed you plamya,” He whispered in my ear.   
“I missed you too,” I replied.   
“You look...well-rested. Have you been taking it easier?” He asked.   
“On the contrary, I had my chest flayed by a deathclaw and a leg blown off,” I wiggled my right leg, “But the surgery went well.”   
Yefim’s eyes were wide and his jaw slack, it was Vadim that broke the silence by clapping me on the back with a bellowing laugh, “You kid!”   
“No, she is serious,” X6-88 said.   
“Oh,” Vadim looked at me with an apologetic expression.   
“It’s okay guys, I’m alive,” I laughed, “Nothing can take me out, right?”   
“I wish you would just stay here,” Yefim embraced me again.   
“I will soon, but I still have some business to handle before then,” I assured him.   
“You plan to stay here?” You could hear the distaste in X6-88’s voice.   
“Eventually, I do have a house here now,” I replied.   
“And who is this?” Vadim extended a hand to X6-88, who in turn just looked at him. “Okay! Come Olivia, have drink!”   
“I don’t think I can drink right now Vadim, but I have plenty of stories for you,” I sat on the barstool and began to spin my tales to everyone who was listening, careful to leave out the Institute details. 

…

“Alright guys, I have some other people I need to see before I head back out,” I announced, standing up.   
“Won’t you stay the night?” Yefim asked, touching my thigh.   
“Oh I will, I’ll just be at Homeplate now. You’re welcome to come over,” I stroked his face.   
“I will be there,” He kissed my hand and let me leave. 

We made it just outside Nick’s before X6-88 spoke, “So he is another one of your sexual partners?”   
“Yes, although he has become more of an emotional confidant for me than just someone to tumble with,” I explained.   
“Is it normal here for women to have multiple partners?” He questioned.   
“Yes, actually. It surprised me at first too,” I replied.   
“So if there is someone else you meet that you find attractive, then you would begin a relationship with them too?” He continued.   
“Jealousy is cute on you X6,” I teased.   
“Hm,” He opened the door for me.   
“I need you to wait out here, Nick won’t take your presence well,” I commanded.   
“Yes, ma’am,” He responded. 

To my surprise, Piper was with Nick. They had their heads buried in some file reports. They didn’t even notice me walk in the room. 

“Welcome back Olivia, ah thank you friends,” I joked.   
“OLIVIA!” They both jumped up.   
“Aw there we go,” I smiled, giving them both a hug.   
“We were just looking over sightings of you to find out where you were. We thought you died.” Nick said.   
“Well...I almost did,” I looked down at my leg. “Piper, get out your notepad, I have a lot to tell you.” 

...

“So he’s just outside?” Nick asked, concerned.   
“Yeah, don’t worry though he wouldn’t hurt me,” I assured him.   
“I don’t know Blue, he seems like a big risk to be walking around with,” Piper said.   
“He saved my life a few times now, he’s someone I want in my corner,” I defended.   
“Alright,” Piper threw her hands up, “Just watch your six.”   
“I usually do,” I smiled at her.   
“Olivia, can we talk in private?” Nick asked.   
“I’m headed out,” Piper said, “Just see me again before you disappear Blue, I missed you.”   
“I will Piper,” I gave her a hug as she walked out.   
“What is it you needed f-” 

Nick was on my lips before I could finish my sentence. His robotic hand tangled in my hair as he pressed me into him. His other hand was running the length of my back. I let the kiss last a few moments before breaking off. 

“What is that for?” I asked him.   
“I thought you were dead Olivia. I can’t hold back now that I know you’re alive. I love you, Olivia. Please, stay here with me.” He pleaded.   
“You know you’re the second person to ask me that today,” I chuckled.   
“Yefim?” He questioned.   
“Yeah, but just like I told him I’ll tell you. I’m not ready to settle down yet,” I replied, “I love you too Nick, but I don’t know if I’m in love with you. You’ve hurt me a lot.”  
“I know doll, but I’m willing to spend the rest of my life making it up to you,” He got down on one knee.   
“Woah there Nick, stand up. I can’t handle this right now. I have too much on my plate to add getting married to it,” I told him.   
“Olivia, please. At least consider it,” He stood up and brushed himself off.   
I looked at him as I opened the door to walk out, “okay.”


	55. Mirelurk Cakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can Yefim cook? Why is Dr. Sun a little stiff? Why have I spent more time writing this story than doing my telework assignments? Well, we'll find out two of those.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning:   
Suicide attempt
> 
> Aside from a deep moment, just some fluff and casual sex as we build up the sexual tension between X6 and Olivia. It'll boil over soon, I promise.

X6-88 inspected Home Plate thoroughly, taking note of all entrances, “There are no good vantage points in this location.”  
“Well considering it’s a house built on a baseball field, I’m not surprised,” I replied as I changed into a loose t-shirt and a pair of underwear.  
“I will need to watch the house from outside,” He continued.  
“Well good thing there is a whole table and chair on the roof. I even have a fridge up there that has plenty of Nuka Cola. You’re welcome to it,” I responded.  
“Thank you,” He paused as he looked at me, “I-I will go upstairs then. Goodnight Olivia.”  
“Goodnight X6. Don’t forget Yefim is coming so don’t shoot him!” I called as he climbed the ladder to the roof. He didn’t reply. 

I sat down at my workbench and inspected the plans MacCready had left me for new nightstand. He was very thoughtful in his own way. I took a swig of Nuka Cola and brought my 9mm out on the bench. Carefully I took it apart and began cleaning it. It had been some time since I had to use it. I was working at it for half an hour before there was a knock at my door. Yefim was standing on the other side, a plate full of mirelurk cakes in his hands. 

“Oh yummy, come on in!” I stood out of the doorway, closing and locking the door behind him.  
“You aren’t wearing pants,” He said, staring at the new scars on my legs.  
“Yeah, it makes the healing itchier,” I looked down at my legs too, “I have robot legs now.”  
“What?” Yefim sounded startled.  
“Well they’re my legs, but they have cybernetic enhancements now. So robot legs sound cooler,” I smiled, “Come, let’s eat those cakes.” 

We sat on the floor together since I didn’t have a table, and Yefim insisted that he wouldn’t take the only chair in the room from me even though I wanted to sit on the floor. So here we both were, on the floor with criss crossed legs shoving our faces with greasy mirelurk cakes Yefim cooked for us. It was simplistic and perfect in its own way.  
I watched as Yefim began to twirl his fingers, “What’s on your mind Yefim?”  
“Ah. I-I worried about you. Still worry about you. It would be easier if you could stay here with me and let me take care of you,” He replied.  
“I don’t need taking care of Yefim, you know that,” I countered.  
“Yes, but wouldn’t you like that? No more running from gun fire or...or having your legs blown off,” He pointed to my leg.  
“You’re making it painfully obvious this scar bothers you,” I pulled my shirt over my knees in an attempt to cover my legs.  
“No, playma,” He grabbed my hand, “I just wish you would stop putting yourself in harm's way. If you were to stay here you would be safe.”  
“Even here isn’t as safe as you think,” I countered.  
“But it’s safer than what you’re doing. You could stay with me, settle down, start a family,” He pushed.  
“Don’t tell me you’re proposing now too,” I said.  
“Too?” He questioned.  
“Yeah, it’s real deja vu. I’m not ready to settle yet. I’m still trying to figure myself out,” I rubbed my arms.  
“Then we can figure it out together,” He cupped my face, “please, just think about it.”  
“Okay,” I caved, leaning into his hands.  
“Come, let’s go to bed,” He stood up, offering me his hand.  
“I like the sound of that,” I teased. 

Yefim laid down first, his chest facing me. I crawled onto him, resting my head on a pec and bringing a leg onto his. I ran my hand through the hair on his chest as he pulled the cover over us. He brought his arm under me and around my waist. I fell asleep quickly, completely comfortable. Yefim had a way to bring about peace. 

…

“Ma’am,” X6-88’s voice startled me and Yefim awake.  
“Fuck! X6, you have to use more subtle methods to wake people up,” I scolded.  
“How did you get in here?” Yefim looked at the front door.  
“Oh he has my key,” I answered, “He was standing guard all night for us.”  
“For you,” X6-88 corrected.  
“Technically,” I threw my hands up in the air, “What did you need?”  
“It is noon, you missed breakfast,” He replied.  
“Damn. I love breakfast,” I sighed.  
“There is still plenty of food at the Inn,” Yefim offered.  
“Fair. Let’s go guys!” I popped out of the bed, feeling better emotionally and physically. 

I began to take off my sleeping clothes and change into my casual clothes. It took me stripping completely naked before I was suddenly aware that Yefim doesn’t fully know my relationship with X6. I turned to see Yefim glaring at X6, and X6 watching me.  
“Can you give her some privacy?” Yefim asked him.  
“Why? Never had before,” X6-88 crossed his arms, keeping his eyes on me.  
“Olivia?” Yefim questioned.  
“It’s fine Yefim,” I called out as I finished buttoning my blouse. 

We made our way to the Dugout in an awkward silence. I chowed down on some scrabbled mirelurk eggs and a thin slice of brahmin. I bought X6-88 some sort of vegetable dish with pieces of meat floating in it. Yefim didn’t eat, but spent most of the time glaring at X6-88. 

“Staring at him won’t phase him, ya’know,” I said.  
“Who is he to you, again?” Yefim asked.  
“My bodyguard,” I answered.  
“Why was he watching you undress?” Yefim’s voice had a tinge of jealousy and a lot of confusion.  
“Yefim, you know a lot of people have seen me naked. I don’t really care if any of my friends watch me change,” I explained.  
“I understand,” Yefim had Vadim bring him a nuka cola mixed with moonshine.  
“Alcohol?” X6 commented in a judgemental fashion.  
“Drink of men!” Vadim shouted, “You want, yes?”  
“He doesn’t drink Vadim, but thank you,” I chimed in.  
“It’s okay! I drink for both of you!” Vadim laughed and took a shot of something clear. 

I chuckled, returning to my plate. A patreon at the bar that I didn’t recognise as a Diamond city resident suddenly pulled a pipe pistol out of his jacket and shoved it in our direction. 

“Let me see your hands!” He shouted.  
“You are joking,” I looked at the pitiful weapon in his hands.  
“You heard me!” He continued.  
I put my hands up, “you’re making a mistake kid, just leave and we’ll forget this happened.”  
“Don’t tell me what to do bitch!” His voice was shaky.  
“Hey watch it,” Yefim said, his hands raised.  
“You too glasses!” the kid said to X6.  
“He’s not listening to you brat,” I spat.  
“Well then, I’ll have to- to shoot you. Give me all your caps!” The kid pushed. Yefim and Vadim reached in their pockets, but X6-88 and I didn’t move. “Hey you guys too,” he continued.  
“Why don’t you come and get it?” I looked to X6-88, who ever so slightly nodded his head. 

The kid slowly approached me. Just as he was about to dig into my bag, I wrapped my legs around his lower body and X6-88 grabbed his gun. He threw it against the wall, sending shards of wood flying. I kept the would-be robber locked to my body with my legs. X6-88 landed a hard punch in his face, knocking the kid out. X6-88 and I had moved in fluid motions with each other, making even Vadim drop his jaw. 

“I’ll let the guards know he’s here,” I said, getting up and dropping the kid to the floor. “I got some people to visit before I leave.”  
“Can’t you stay another day?” Yefim asked, getting up to hug me.  
“I really can’t, but I promise I’ll keep in better touch with you,” I replied. 

… 

Next stop was Dr. Sun. I knew he would want to hear about the impossible surgery that was pulled off on me. X6-88 stood at the support beam of his clinic, facing outward to keep an eye on the crowd. Dr. Sun pulled the curtain to give me privacy to show him my scars. 

“And this is where they reattached it,” I showed my right leg to him.  
“Remarkable,” He whispered as he touched the scar, “and you are able to walk normally?”  
“Yeah, the cybernetic enhancements aren't a joke,” I smiled.  
“Can I see how your other wounds are healing?” He asked.  
“Anything for you doc,” I teased, unbuttoning my blouse.  
Dr. Sun was paying close attention to my fingers pulling at the buttons, “Your ability to bounce back from grave injury is amazing.”  
“Aw you’re just saying that,” I replied, pulling the blouse off and exposing my breasts to him. 

He paused for a moment before touching the long marks across my chest. He traced each line across the length on my chest, even over my breasts. My hair stood on end at the coolness of his hands, my nipples tightening. 

“You are very lucky that you were wearing protection,” Dr. Sun said.  
“Gotta stay safe,” I laughed, my eyes wandering to an erection pressing against Dr. Sun’s slacks.  
“I have a cream for this that will help reduce the scarring,” He reached for a container on his bookshelf.  
“That would be great,” I told him. 

Dr. Sun carefully took a finger scoop of the vaseline like substance out of the tin and began to apply it to the scars. I rolled my head back, enjoying the attention as much as Dr. Sun was obviously enjoying the view. 

“Is it uncomfortable?” He questioned.  
“No it feels good,” I assured him.  
“Good, I can get you some for the road,” he replied.  
“That would be great doc,” I pulled my head back upright, my face close to his.  
“Uh-ahem. I’ll get that ready for you,” He didn’t move.  
“Yeah, that would be nice,” I ran my leg up to his thigh.  
Dr. Sun nearly choked on his own saliva, “Yes! Getting it now.”  
I watched as he turned away, his erection at full mast, “It’s okay you know.”  
“What is?” He still wasn’t looking at me.  
“Oh you know what. I don’t find it offensive, so don’t worry about it,” I continued.  
“No, it’s very unprofessional,” he countered, handing me the tin.  
I leaned in so that my lips were next to his ears, “And what if I want to play doctor?” 

It was almost like I could hear something snap inside of his brain. Before I could say anything else or tell him I was just teasing him, he was on me. His lips were on my neck, making their way down to my breasts. 

“Now this is unprofessional doctor,” I teased, pulling his head closer to my chest.  
“I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” He spoke into my skin.  
“Seems like it,” I laughed, pulling his whole body closer to mine with my legs.  
“Just don’t tell Doctor Crocker,” He said.  
“I don’t plan on telling anyone,” I assured him. 

I laid back onto the examination table, Doctor Sun climbing on top of me. He freed himself and slicked his erection with that scar cream that I’m fairly certain is just petroleum jelly. Sun slid into me with ease, stifling a groan. 

“Are you going to perform a full examination, doctor?” I asked in a sultry tone.  
“We’re going to make sure you leave the office better than when you came in,” he played along.  
“Well don’t wait doctor,” I pulled his face back to my breasts. 

He moved in calculated motions, careful not to make enough noise to draw attention from the people walking around the market. I put my hands on my mouth to keep from moaning. Dr. Sun quickened his pace and it wasn’t long before he was squirting his seed all over my chest and stomach. 

“I’m sorry, it’s been so long since I-”  
“Don’t worry about it,” I raised a hand to his face, “I’m just happy for the ride.”  
“Are you sure? I could keep going until you?” He asked without finishing the sentence.  
“No I have some people to see, but next time I’m running through I’ll stop by for another check up.” I winked at him. 

“That was a long exam,” X6-88 said to me as I walked out from behind the curtain.  
“We both know you know that wasn’t just an exam,” I said to him.  
“Hm,” he muttered.  
“I’ll introduce you to Piper, she’ll love you,” I lied.  
“The reporter that writes about the Institute?” He questioned.  
“That’s the one,” I opened the door to her office. 

Piper was bent over her desk scowling at her reports. She welcomed us in with wary eyes on X6-88. She began to tell me about different reports on me, spottings and what not. Apparently Travis was still keeping tabs on me and sharing them with everyone in the city. I sat with a cup of black coffee in my hands, X6-88 standing by the door of the office. 

“People are going to find out you’re connected to the Institute, Blue,” she said, “and when they do, it won’t be pretty.”  
“I’m sure they’ll be suspicious, but they won’t act on anything unless you report it,” I stated.  
“Don’t worry Blue, I won’t tell anyone about that. You’re my friend, I don’t want you getting hurt,” She smiled at me with a sad look in her eyes.  
“Thanks Piper,” I replied, “I promise I’ll change things when I’m Director.”  
“I know you will. You always do,” She winked at me.  
“Would you like to come with us to Sanctuary?” I asked.  
“Do I get to teleport?” She questioned.  
“Yes,” I answered.  
“Then yes, let me pack my bag,” She ran to her room. 

… 

Piper bent over vomiting after we landed outside of Sanctuary. We walked over to the main house, looking for the rest of our crew. Cait was the first to see us, jogging over. 

“If it ain’t my favorite two women,” She winked at Piper.  
“Never going to happen Cait,” Piper said.  
“I mean, it might happen,” I replied with a wink to Cait.  
“Okay guys,” Piper’s face blushed red.  
“And whose this tall, dark handsome?” She reached out to stroke X6-88.  
I stopped her before she could make the mistake, “my bodyguard, he doesn’t like being touched.”  
“Aye? Who doesn’t like being touched?” She questioned.  
“Lots of people Cait!” Piper exclaimed.  
“Looks like you touched a nerve, Cait, please play nice with Piper,” I asked of her.  
“I’m trying to play,” Cait took a swig of beer.  
“It’s a little early to be drinking, isn’t it? I thought we fixed that addiction of yours,” I said.  
“I’m not addicted again, just enjoying the occasional drink with MacCready,” She defended.  
“Alright, if you say so. Speaking of which, where is my mercenary?” I looked around Cait, spotting him sitting in the house. 

I walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck, “I missed you.”  
“I missed you too, but not as much as Dogmeat,” My furry companion jumped on me, “ we should celebrate you coming back,” He offered.  
“That could be nice, is the fridge well stocked for us?” I questioned.  
“Aye,” Cait answered.  
“Then it’s settled, party tonight,” I stood up from MacCready.  
“I’ll be back, just going to check on some people now,” I walked out of the main house to the work stations.  
Sturges was banging on something with a hammer at the worktable. I watched his muscles gleaming with sweat for a moment. His ass shaking slightly with each hit of the hammer. 

“Hey there handsome,” I announced to him.  
“Well I’ll be,” He dropped his hammer and gave me a moist hug.  
“Someone’s been working hard,” I commented.  
“Always. I’d reckon that you’re spending the night?” He asked.  
“I am and as always you’re welcome over. We’re having a party tonight,” I said.  
“Well alright, I’ll be there,” He turned back to his work. 

“Another one of your-”  
“Yes X6, another one. So are Cait and MacCready. I have a horrible habit of fucking my friends,” I interupted.  
“Why haven’t you tried sleeping with me?” He asked.  
“I’ve...well I’ve thought about it,” I admitted.  
“Do you think about it often?” He continued.  
“Often enough,” I answered.  
“Hm,” He muttered.

Next up on the visit list were Codsworth and Curie, who were both floating around the place together. 

“Mistress!” Codsworth announced, happy to see me.  
“Good morning Codsworth, missed me?” I asked.  
“Of course ma’am, I’ve been keeping all the houses clean while you were away,” He replied.  
“And keeping Curie company I see,” I looked at her.  
“Oui,” She said, and I’ve been keeping a certain gentleman company.”  
“Who’s that?” I questioned.  
“His name is Danse,” she said.  
I felt my heart skip a few beats, “Where is he?”  
“He went to the top of zat hill,” She pointed to the spot.  
“Okay, I’ll be back,” I stated.  
“One moment please,” Curie said, “I’ve been wanting to ask you for help. I’ve learned a lot from my stay here, but I’m running out of space for my data. Is it possible for me to be installed in an organic life, a synth?”  
“It is possible,” X6-88 said with a scowl.  
“Sure Curie, I’ll see what I can do,” I said, moving toward Danse. 

…

Sure enough, Danse was sitting on top of the hill, looking out to the empty wilderness. The direction he was staring was actually in the direction that his team’s vertibird crashed. I approached him slowly, having X6-88 stand at a distance. 

“Danse?” I whispered.  
“Hello Olivia,” He said in a somber tone.  
“Are you okay?” I asked.  
He turned his head to me, “No. I’ve been told my life is a lie and I’ve forsaken everything I’ve ever known on an accusation without proof.”  
I reached into my bag, “About that, I had a search done and I found this,” I handed him the holotape, “It has all the information on you. The system that was programmed in you, your assigned designation, and what their plans for you were.”  
“Oh. Thank you,” He took the tape.  
“Look, Danse,” I started, “I can’t even pretend to know what feelings you’re going through right now, but I can offer a shoulder to lean on.”  
“I should kill myself,” He blurted out.  
“Danse-”  
“I’m a monster. I shouldn’t have created,” He continued.  
“Danse-”  
“I should take this rifle and just end it,” He hoisted his rifle to his head.  
“Danse!” I ran to him, forcing his head away from the blast. 

My arm, unfortunately, was in the line of fire, gaining me one hell of a burn. I hit the ground grabbing at my arm, the burning drawing tears to my eyes. X6-88 came sprinting to me, picking me up off the ground and holding me to his chest. He pulled a stimpak from his coat pocket and injected it into the burn site. I screamed at the pain, but it quickly dissipated. Danse looked at me with horror on his face at what just happened. He tossed his rifle on the ground and sat frozen. 

“That was incredibly stupid,” X6-88 said to me, his face tilted to Danse.  
“You know me X6, the stupid girl with curls,” I laughed through the residual pain. I enjoyed how I felt against his chest like this.  
“I can’t protect you if you keep throwing yourself in front of the fire,” He scolded.  
“I know, I’m sorry,” I replied.  
“All for a damn synth,” he muttered.  
“Synth are people too,” I brought my face into his chest.  
“Hm,” he sighed.  
“Olivia, I-I never meant to, I would never hurt you,” He stumbled, crawling toward me.  
“You already have M7-97,” X6-88 said coldly.  
“Hey, that’s not fair,” I started, “It’s okay Danse-”  
“No, it’s not. You are selfish and do not take other’s safety into consideration. Clearly, for some reason, Olivia has put emotional worth in you and you would toss that away,” X6 interrupted.  
I looked up at him, something different in his tone.  
“X6?” I questioned.  
“You don’t deserve to exist,” He finished.  
“Hey, hey,” I removed myself from X6-88, moving over to Danse and cupping his face, “You deserve to live Danse, you just have a hurdle to get over. You have people that love you even though you’re a synth. I love you.”  
His eyes grew wide, “I-I had not considered that. How could you love a machine?”  
“You bleed just as I do,” I placed a kiss on his forehead, “So why don’t you come down from here and join your misfit family at the party?”  
“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Spoiler alert* if you're dying for me to fill the X6/sole tag, it'll start in two more chapters.


	56. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of a bonus chapter, the next chapter will be posted early.

The main house was full of my friends and settlers. There was an open bar in the right corner and several couches and chairs were drug out on the first floor. All the beds had been moved to the second floor to make room for the party. Cait was telling a rude story about a woman she tousled with to MacCready. Piper looked at her in disgust. Curie and Codsworth were floating just outside of the house, content to just listen to most of the conversations. Danse was sitting alone in a chair off to the left corner alone, a tall glass of whiskey in his hands. Sturges looked to him uncomfortably, possibly concerned for him. 

“Well, well, the only thing this party is missing is Hancock,” I said as I walked into the room with X6-88.   
“And Nick!” Piper replied.   
“Is everyone here drinking?” X6-88 asked.   
“That’s what makes it a party, do you want any?” I questioned.   
“That’s all you, I don’t touch the stuff,” He replied.   
“Why’s that?” I asked him as I bent over the table to grab a beer.   
“Drunk is a close relative to dead here,” He said.   
“Fair enough, more for us then,” I made my way to sit on the floor so I could speak to all of my friends without having to turn much. X6-88 took a seat behind me, facing the door. ‘Hey Danse!” I waved to him, “Get your phat ass over here.” He compiled, but sat distanced from us.   
“Alright guys, what are we talking about?” A familiar voice asked.   
“Deacon!” I jumped up and gave him a hug, “I don’t even want to know how you found me, but I’m glad you're here.”   
“Same here boss,” He replied, “Now where’s my drink?”   
“Bar’s open,” MacCready pointed him in the right direction.   
“X6, normally I’m not a heavy drinker, but tonight might be an exception,” I warned him.   
“Understood,” He replied.   
I turned to Cait, “And you’re only having that one beer right?”   
“She better only have that,” MacCready eyed her.   
“Aw look at you two,” Deacon commented.   
“So guys, what I miss?”   
…

The radio played in the room, people dancing and having a good time. I looked at the faces of all my friends, cheery and unworried. For a little while tonight at least, we didn’t have to worry about the world. We can let loose and take in all the things we worked hard for. If you asked me all that time ago when I stepped out of the vault that I’d be here, I wouldn’t believe it. 

I drank down a few beers, exchanging stories with everyone. Cait told a tale about a girl she was with that had Piper covering her ears. Piper talked about how she thought the mayor was a synth and explained the evidence. MacCready had been brushing up on his social skills, seemingly getting closer to Cait since I’ve been gone. They seemed very chummy. Deacon spun plenty of tall tales about me and some of the work I did. Everyone at HQ is keeping sharp tabs on me now that I am in contact with the Institute, meaning I would have to go see them to smooth things over. 

Danse was quiet the whole time we were chatting, his face in the bottom of his glass. He mulled over his whiskey for some time before lifting his head up to look at me. He had sad eyes, clearly upset over what happened earlier. My arm was fine now, but he wasn’t going to forgive himself anytime soon. 

“We should play a game!” I exclaimed, tipsy.   
“Alright, how about truth or dare?” Piper offered.   
“No, spin the bottle,” Cait piped up.   
“Charades?” Deacon added.   
“How about we mix up spin the bottle and truth or dare?” I suggested.   
“Sounds good,” MacCready said.   
“Alright, I’ll start,” I spun the bottle, watching it land on Cait, “Truth or dare?”   
“Dare,” She stated quickly.   
“I dare you to dance,” I smiled at her.   
“To what?” She crossed her arms. 

I started beating on the wooden floor, Deacon and MacCready following suit. Cait made some awkward movements like she was trying to fight a ghost. I laughed when she tripped over her own feet and fell on the ground. Cait brushed herself off and spun the bottle, landing on Danse. 

“Alright soldier, truth or dare?” Cait asked.   
“Truth,” he muttered, looking at the bottom of his glass.   
“Do you wear underwear under those tights?” She grinned at him.   
“What kind of- yes. Yes we do,” He looked up at her.   
“Your turn Danse,” I smiled at him.   
His bottle landed on me, “Truth or dare Olivia?”   
“Dare me,” I slurred slightly.   
“Dare? Uh…” He struggled to come with an answer.   
“Dare her to strip!” Cait yelled, earning a dirty look from me.   
“How about daring her to drink more, we’ve never seen her drunk,” MacCready offered.   
“No guys, clearly we need to dare her to do something more embarrassing,” Deacon said.   
“I dare you to...do one hundred push ups,” Danse said, everyone looking at him like he was a stranger.   
“Danse I can’t do a push up, let alone a hundred,” I rubbed the back of my head.   
“Oh, I dare you to drink a glass of whiskey,” He took MacCready’s suggestion.   
“Bring it!” I reached a hand out to Piper, who was pouring the glass. I downed the glass in two large gulps, coughing at the burning.   
“Impressive,” MacCready laughed.   
“Alright my go again,” I spun the bottle, “Okay Piper-”   
“Truth,” She cut me short. “I’m not daring around you Cait.”   
“Alright Piper tell us, what do you do when you’re not being a reporter?” I asked.   
“I um...I like to eat?” She said.   
“That’s a cop out, you’re getting a new question. Do you really reject Cait’s advances because you don’t like her, or do you just not like women?” I asked.   
“I don’t really have a preference,” Piper’s face turned red, “I’m just not interested in Cait.”   
“Oh but it sounds like you’re interested in someone,” I teased.   
“You only get one question Blue,” She grabbed the bottle, “Okay MacCready, truth or dare?”   
“Truth,” He replied.   
“Where did you learn how to shoot?” She asked.   
“Picked up a rifle as a kid and never turned back, my turn,” He spun the bottle, it landed on me again.   
“I think this one is to you X6,” I looked at him.   
“No,” he sighed.   
“The attitude is cute,” I patted his arm, feeling hot, “Okay, dare.”   
“I dare you to take another glass of whiskey or take off some clothes,” MacCready winked at Cait.   
“It’s nothing you haven’t seen before Mac,” I told him.   
“Doesn’t mean I don’t want to see it again,” He smiled at me.   
“Oh fuck you,” I replied, standing up to grab another drink.   
“I believe you’re past your limit ma’am,” X6-88 warned me.   
“A dare is a dare sir,” I downed the second glass, this time I missed the bottle when I tried to grab it the first time. “Deacon! Truth or dareeeeeee.”   
“Dare,” He boldly said.   
“Take off your wig and glasses,” I demanded, he complied. “Ayyyyy.” I was drunk for sure. “Okay, we’re the only ones here now,” I got up to close the door, “Now we play for real. Dares only.”   
“I’m game,” MacCready leaned in.   
“Same here,” Cait took another swing of beer.   
“Here we go,” Deacon said as he spun the bottle, “Cait, I dare you to fight Olivia.”   
“Woah there,” I slurred.   
“Come on Olivia,” Cait got up and walked to the open area of the room.   
“I would advise against that,” X6-88 stood up.   
“Oh sit your fine ass down,” I pushed his shoulder down until he sat down, “Come on Cait.”   
“Won’t be the first time I beat your ass,” She winked at me. 

I raised up my hands like X6-88 taught me and let Cait make the first move. She ran to me rearing for a right hook. I dodged it and dropped down to sweep her legs. She fell backward on her ass. I lost my balance in the process and fell also. We both scrambled up, Cait throwing a left this time. I caught it, my wrist stinging, and got caught with her right in the stomach. I doubled over and rushed her. I popped up and slammed my right hand into her face. She was lining up a hard right to my face, when X6-88 jumped in and scooped me up and away from the fight. 

“Hey I was winning,” I pouted.   
“And you were about to stop winning,” He sat me down back in my spot.   
“Fine,” I rubbed my stomach, knowing it hurt but not being able to feel it past all the alcohol in my system. I spun the bottle, “Danse, I dare you hug everyone in this room.”   
“Hey why does he get off easy?” Cait asked.   
“Because he’s going through some things right now and could use some love,” I opened my arms to him.   
“Absolutely not, I’m not playing this anymore,” Danse replied.   
“Fine,” I spun the bottle again, “Okay MacCready, “I dare you to shoot a mutfruit off my head.”  
“No,” X6-88 stated.   
“Not doing that when you’re drunk,” MacCready said.   
“Not the best idea Blue,” Piper spoke.   
“Oh fine, now what?” I asked the group.   
“We could just go to bed now,” Danse said.   
“Or, we could have a real party and get to know each other better,” Cait suggested.   
“As much as I’d enjoy an orgy, I don’t think all parties here would be willing,” I said to Cait.   
“Just me and you then? Let the others watch,” Cait replied.   
“Cait!” Piper’s face was very red now.   
“Olivia, you should rest,” X6-88 put a hand on my shoulder.   
“Why I’m fin-” I vomited on the floor, my stomach aching.   
“There it is,” MacCready announced.   
“Parties over guys,” Piper got up.   
“Okay fair,” I sighed.   
“Let me help you up,” Danse began to stand up, but X6-88 bet him to the punch.   
I took X6’s hand, “It’s okay Danse, just look out for yourself tonight.”   
“Yeah,” He looked at the ground.   
“Danse,” I paused at the door X6-88 was holding open for me, “I’ll talk to you in the morning okay?”   
“Okay,” He looked at me with sad eyes.   
…

X6-88 and I were in my house. I was inspecting the bruise on my stomach, Cait had quite the arm. 

“You shouldn’t have engaged her while you were drinking,” He scolded.   
“I’m sorry,” I sat down on my bed, looking at myself in the mirror. Dogmeat curled up at the edge of the bed, having missed me during the party.   
“Let me see it,” He pulled my arm up gently and looked at it, “It’ll heal in a few days on its own.”   
“Yeah, still hurts though,” I looked at the ground, “Tell me something X6?”   
“Yes ma’am?” He asked.   
“How do you feel about our relationship?” I looked up at him.   
“Well when Father told us about you and who you were, it was clear he had certain biases. He is your son and very proud of it. Many of us thought he was more than prideful, but narcissistic when he appointed you as his replacement. How could an outsider run the Institute?” X6-88 put a hand on my shoulder, “I doubted you more than most. Watching you for all this time now, it became clear to me that I was wrong.”   
“Aw, X6,” I leaned my head on his hand.   
“And don’t give me shit about getting soft and emotional,” He stated.   
“I would never,” I faked offense.   
“Hm,” A slight smile crossed his face, “You should go to bed.”   
“Would you sit in bed with me?” I asked.   
“Sure,” he climbed onto the edge of my bed and watched the door while I fell into a deep sleep. 

…

When I woke up, X6-88 was gone from my room. Dogmeat was bouncing around thinking I had breakfast ready for him. My head was pounding from a serious hangover. I looked at myself in the mirror, my hair was a total messy. I was wearing an oversized t-shirt that I don’t remember putting on. I reached down to stroke Dogmeat’s fur, calming him down. He enjoyed the attention before there was a noise at the door, which sent him barking. X6-88 walked into the room with two plates of food. He handed one to me and took a seat at my makeshift vanity. 

“I thought you could use some breakfast,” He said.   
“You thought correctly,” I began to dig into the mirelurk omelet, “who made the omelet?”   
“I did,” He replied.   
“Really? You did a good job,” I shoved my face some more.   
X6-88 frowned at a begging, whimpering Dogmeat, “Does the dog have to be in here?”   
“Hey, Dogmeat was my original guard,” I tossed a piece of my omelet on the floor for him, “He’s the most loyal creature on this planet.”   
“And one of the strongest of scent,” He shooed Dogmeat away.   
“Oh he’s not that bad,” I laughed.   
“If you say so ma’am,” He replied.   
“You know you make me feel so old when you call me ma’am, I’m not even thirty yet,” I stated.   
“I meant no offense,” He said.   
“I know, I just like people using my first name I guess,” I admitted, “makes me feel closer to people. When I was practicing, I insisted my patients use my first name. It made for a more personal connection.”   
“Sounds like you were a doctor people could trust,” X6-88 replied.   
“I tried to be. I miss how things were before the war,” I sighed.   
“The Commonwealth is a cesspool. I’m not surprised you would miss the old world,” He responded.   
“There are things that are good here. The bonds that people still manage to form and maintain with each other. It shows that humanity is still out there,” I explained.   
“The Institute is humanity’s future,” he looked at me, “and you are its future leader.”   
“Yeah,” I sighed again. 

I got up after finishing my breakfast and retrieved a can of dog food from the kitchen area of my house. Dogmeat ate it all greedily. After that, I made my way back into the bedroom to get dressed and do something with the mop on my head. It took painstakingly long to manage to get all of the knots out of my hair, but the finished result looked good. I made a leave-in conditioner of tarberries and some pre-war lotion Struges had given me ages ago. X6-88 watched my every move. I slid on my button-up and slacks again, confident we wouldn’t run into any serious problems at the Castle. 

I still had one thing left to do before I leave again, I had to make sure Danse was okay. I found him mulling over some vegetable soup. He was wearing farmhand’s clothing, the flannel suits him nicely. 

“Hey there mister,” I wrapped my arms around him.   
“Olivia, I-”   
“No need,” I cut him off with a hand, “you don’t have to explain anything to me. You have a right to feel anyway you feel right now and I want you to know you have my support.”   
“Thank you Olivia,” he started, “but I needed to tell you this. I wanted to say thank you. You still accept me, knowing what I am. I don’t know if I’ll ever accept myself, but I can go on knowing that you accept me and that you have the best judgment in people.”   
“Aw Danse,” I hugged him again, “don’t make me cry.”   
He wrapped his burly arms around my waist, “I would never hurt you. What happened before was...unacceptable.”   
“It’s okay Danse, I’m just glad that you’re going to be okay. The world would be a dimmer place without you,” I kissed his cheek.   
“Are you leaving again?” He grabbed my hand as I stood up.   
“Yes, I need to get to Preston for some updates,” I squeezed his hand, “but I’ll be back soon enough.”   
“Okay,” he glanced down then looked back up with those big puppy eyes, “I love you.”   
“I love you too Danse.”


	57. Battle at the Castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who knew you could find love on a battlefield? X6-88 sure didn't.

“So, the Institute is no longer our enemy?” Preston asked me from across the office table inside of the Castle.   
“Correct,” I answered.   
“And you’re the new leader?” He continued.   
“Correct,” I answered again.   
“And your son is an old man who is dying?” He finished.   
“Correct, although I wish it weren’t,” I looked to the table then back at Preston, “I plan to bring the Minutemen and the Institute together under one umbrella. I also hope we can make the Railroad unnecessary and keep the peace with the Brotherhood.”   
“That’s-wow. That’s a lot to take in. Are you sure you can handle it?” He reached across the table to put a hand on mine.   
I placed my other hand on top of his, “I can so long as you can lead the Minutemen.”   
“I can, although I know you’d be doing a better job than me,” He readjusted his hat.   
“Oh don’t say that. You’re doing great. I wouldn’t leave it all to you if you weren’t,” I stood up, “I hate to cut our time short, but I have to get back to the Instit-” 

A loud explosion fired off not far from us. We all jumped up and ran outside. Two Vertibirds were in the air, one spiraling down after being hit with cannon fire. Brotherhood knights charged the Castle, some in full power armor. It was a bad time to not be wearing my suit. 

“Olivia, get behind me,” X6-88 commanded.   
I did as he said, but leaned enough to see what was happening, “Why are they here? They don’t know about Mass Fusion right?” I began to panic.   
“No,” he replied, firing some shots, “I got to get you out of here.”   
“I can’t just leave Preston and everyone to die,” I countered.   
“It’s okay Olivia, we can handle this,” Preston said as cannons raked the inner fields, sending Brotherhood soldiers flying.   
“No, I’m staying,” I darted from X6 to the wall in front of us. I made a few shots from my rifle, downing a soldier.   
“Olivia, we need to get out of here,” X6-88 repeated.   
“No X6, these are my men. I’m not leaving them to the wolves,” I kicked into general mode, “Hey you ten!” I exclaimed to a group of Minutemen rushing down from the walls, “Five of you, get back on the roof and pick off the soldiers not in power armor. Three of you help on the field, the other two follow me.” The men did as they were instructed.   
“General! What do you need?” A blonde soldier asked me.   
“I need you and your friend to get to the stockroom with me and get all the explosives we have. One of you will need to run the supplies to the men on the walls and the other to the men on the field,” an explosion went off from behind me, “We need to move fast.” 

The two men followed me on my heels to the stockroom underground. We had a large reserve of explosives thanks to some deals I made with local traders. I took the shock grenades for myself, handed the frags to the field runner, and the plasma grenades to the men on the roof. X6-88 looked pissed, which I couldn’t blame him for. I told him he could have left, but of course he didn’t. Thankfully for me, my General’s armor was also stored here. I slipped it on over my clothes, adjusting the hat to hit snug. 

“Is the hat necessary?” X6-88 looked uneasy.   
“Yes, the men need to see me on the field. It’s a matter of morale,” I replied, “here, take some of these shock grenades. They’ll disable the power armor temporarily.” I handed him a few grenades.   
“I can’t convince you to retreat to the Institute?” X6-88 questioned.   
“No,” I answered.   
“Shit. Let’s make them regret fucking with us,” he reloaded his rifle and made his way back up to the fighting. 

I took a look at the field from up on the walls. Men bloodied from bullets and explosions. One man was missing a leg, screaming for help. A scribe on the ground was almost dead, her eyes glancing in my direction. There was no clear winning side in this fight, but I was about to change that. I found the places with the most power armor clad men and launched my shock grenades at them. You could hear the screams from the men and women inside of them. The move earned me the temporary attention of everyone on the field. X6-88 ushered me down off the wall. 

"Were you trying to get everyone's focus?" He shouted.   
"Yes. Now they know the boss is here," I set my shoulders back, "let's go kick some ass."   
X6-88 paused to look at me,“Yes ma’am,” he replied with a smile. 

We made our way on the ground. I kept my aim at the remaining soldiers without power armor. X6-88 threw a few grenades, taking out two power suits. I took three burns to my arm and legs. X6 seemed to only have damage to his coat. The ground was saturated in the blood of men and women on both sides. We were fighting for what felt like half an hour before another vertibird came into view. 

A loudspeaker blared a familiar voice from above, “Minutemen, where is your General? We wish to talk.”   
I shouted at the top of my lungs as the fighting stopped, “WHAT DO YOU WANT MAXSON?”   
The vertibird landed in the middle of the field, Maxson stepping to me, “I want you brought to justice.”  
“There’s no need for further bloodshed Maxson,” I announced for everyone to hear, “We can talk like adults. Bring two of your men and I’ll bring two of mine into the conference room.”   
“No Olivia, we will speak in front of everyone about what you did. Who you’re working for,” he threatened.   
“Do you really think my men will turn coat on me?” I asked.   
“WE WOULD NEVER!” Several Minutemen shouted with their rifles in the air.   
“Did you know that your precious general is in league with the Institute?” Maxson questioned.   
“YOU LIE!” They yelled.   
“No, everyone listen. This was to be announced today. As of this moment forward, the Minutemen are allies with the Institute. With our combined powers we will push humanity into the future. I will be the new Director of the Institute and Preston will fulfill the role of General,” I managed to keep my voice from breaking.   
“You vile woman,” Maxson spat at me, “I will see you dead.”

Maxson pulled the charge on his gatling laser. I ran out of his range, X6-88 running with me. We darted into walls, quickly trying to make up a plan. There was no good way to go about this, but we had to take Maxson out quickly before he leveled everyone on the ground. I ran back to the stock room for the one explosive I left behind, the modified missile launcher. I gave it to X6-88, trusting his arm better than mine. I was to be the distraction while he snuck onto the roof. 

I took pot shots from behind the walls, dartinging from doorway to doorway. I got caught in the calf, screaming as I hit the ground. I could hear the footsteps of soldiers rushing to me, no doubt going for an easy kill. Those bastards didn’t know what was coming to them. I heard the kick of the launcher, then the ground lifting from itself as the missiles landed. The vertibird exploding, taking out several knights and paladins, friendly fire was kept to a minimum. 

Just as I expected, the soldiers running to me were expecting an easy kill. I didn’t give them the satisfaction. What they didn’t know was that I was enhanced now, so I was already on my feet. I rushed the first woman to appear from the wall, sending her flying. The man behind her took a 9mm round between the eyes. X6-88 was back down to help me in no time, shooting the woman as we tumbled on the ground. 

“Is Maxson out?” I asked, catching my breath.   
“Couldn’t see from the smoke, are you okay Olivia?” He looked me up and down.   
“Just some burns and a lot of soreness, I’ll live. Come on we have to kill Maxson and find Preston,” I said.   
“I’m right here,” Preston’s voice was faint. He was dragging himself, clutching his side.   
“Preston!” I ran to his side, pulling out the only stimpak I had and injecting it into his side. His bleeding stopped immediately.   
“You’re going to be okay now,” I kissed his forehead, “Let’s get you out of range.” I helped him to his feet.   
“Maxson is still alive. He’s hurt real bad, but still alive,” Preston replied.   
“Don’t worry I’ll take care of him,” I said. 

I left Preston in the conference room with his rifle, making my way back to Maxson. X6-88 had scouted the area around the field and reported back to me that Maxson had made his way into the walls. He would be at disadvantage in close quarters with that heavy weaponry, so I know he must have switched over to a regular rifle. 

X6-88 and I were back to back going searching room to room when I spotted him. He was walking into the barracks, dragging a leg. He clearly was crippled. We slowly walked over to the room, X6-88 rolling silently across the floor to get to the other side of the doorway. I decided that talking wasn’t an option now, he was going to fight like a cornered animal. 

Quickly X6 and I peaked around the doorway and began to fire onto Maxson. He managed to hit X6 in the arm, but I melted his weapon with my plasma rifle. Now unarmed, I had a chance to speak with him. X6 kept his gun trained on Maxson as I made my way into the room. 

I looked at Maxson, “It didn’t have to come to this. I’m going to change the Institute, we could have been allies.”   
“I would never align myself with such monsters,” he spat.   
“I’m going to shut down synth production Arthur. Your pride will be your death,” I replied, “I wash my hands of you.”   
“Do what you came here to do,” he looked me in the eye.   
“Do it,” I said to X6-88. 

He pulled the trigger, Maxson screaming as his skin turned red. All that was left of him was ashes. It had been a rare occurrence that lasers managed to burn someone to an instant crisp, but it was fitting. 

I turned to X6-88, “I think it’s over now.”   
“It seems so, are you okay?” He walked over to me, pulling my face up to him with a finger on my chin.   
“Just some minor wounds, nothing I can’t handle,” I assured him.   
“Good, I was worried,” he still had his finger under my chin.   
I looked up to him wide eyed, “I think we should assess the damage.”   
“Of course.”   
…  
There was some major damage to the field and we lost twenty out of sixty men. Twenty more injured enough to need medical attention. The castle medic and I stabilized everyone, thankfully not losing anyone else. X6-88 watched my every move as I jumped from patient to patient. I took him to my private room on the first floor. It served as a bedroom and an office, it would become Preston’s room soon. The floor was dirt, but the bedding was relatively clean. I closed and locked the door, needing to change out of these bloodied clothes. My blouse and slacks were sweaty, but only slightly torn up. 

X6-88 came up to me, “Olivia, there is something I’d like to say.”  
“Of course X6,” I smiled at him.  
“Sometimes, you have to say what’s on your mind because people need to hear it,” he started.  
“And what’s that?” I questioned.   
“I’ll just lay it out there, I look up to you. All my life I’ve looked up to Father, but I was a lot less sure about you. I followed your orders because I had to, but you seemed unprepared. You looked lost, confused, and scared of everything around you. I figured you couldn’t handle the job I do and would slow me down or get me killed,” He continued.  
“It’s okay, I’m used to everyone underestimating me,” I laughed.   
“But I shouldn’t have. Neither should anyone else,” He put a hand on my face, “If there is anything I’ve learned from following you, it’s this: Holy shit I was wrong.” He rubbed a thumb across my cheek, “You’re tough, determined, intelligent, caring, and so much more. It’s more impressive knowing what you’ve lost, everything you’ve been through. You have a certain will about you. It makes me feel like you can do anything you set your mind to. I don’t only think you will be a great leader of the Institute, but I think you’ll be the best leader yet. I’m honored to fight by your side.”   
“X6-” 

Without saying a word, he used that superhuman strength of his to pick me up by the waist and press me against the nearest wall. I could hear his breathing become irregular and his brow furrowed. 

“I’m not going to pretend like I don’t like this, but I need to know what you’re doing,” I explained.   
“You believe I’m human and I didn’t want to believe you, but these emotions I’m feeling...they aren’t programmed. I want something for the first time. You’re making me go against everything I know,” He breathed.   
“I’m making you? Or did I show you that there’s more to you than you knew?” I brought my hands up to remove his sunglasses.   
His grey eyes raked my body, “You made me see it. You are a formidable woman that I would give my life to protect, but for once it’s because I want to not because I was instructed to.”   
“What else do you want?” I asked.   
“You,” He said, bringing his lips to mine.


	58. Yes, ma'am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What you all have been waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When they made X6-88, they spared no expense. ( ಠ ͜ʖಠ)

He was taking my breath away, literally. My body hot to the touch. His lips tangoed with mine, his tongue finding me. Everything he was doing was rough in the best way possible. X6-88 pulled me up onto his waist and I wrapped my legs around him. He pushed me further onto the wall, pinning me with his hips as he reached and pulled my pants down. To get them all the way off, he lifted my legs up and onto his shoulders. My bare ass pressed into his stomach. I left like a pretzel being folded and thankfully, like the dough, I am flexible. 

With my legs still up and over his shoulders, X6-88 brought himself back in for more lip locking. While he aggressed on my mouth he braced himself with one forearm on the wall and his other hand exploring my lower half. My skin puckered at the sensation as he traced his fingers down one leg and found my mound. For a moment he just enjoyed curling his fingers in the hair before pressing a finger inside. I broke off our kissing to let him hear my moans. His finger curled and hit all the right spots. Clearly he knew a thing or two about female anatomy. 

He moved his thumb to brush against my clit, taking time to let the digit rub against my labia. Another finger was pressed into me, my moisture running down his hand. I could hear the pressure releasing from my sex, turning me on further. The lewd sounds clearly making X6 feel something as he bit his lip. 

“Wrap your legs around my neck, tight,” X6-88 instructed.   
“Okay,” I did as he told me to. 

As soon as I got my ankles crossed he withdrew the hand playing with me and used it to pull me up onto his shoulders completely. My vagina was directly in front of his face. Trying not to lose balance, I grasped his head. X6-88 pushed me back into the wall, preventing me from falling backward, and began to roll his tongue around my labia. I dug my nails in a bit at the pleasure, biting my lip hard trying not to scream out his name. I was delighted by every wet feeling.

X6-88 curled his tongue at my clit, quickly earning a deep groan from me. I rolled my hips to match his pace as he began eating me out. It felt like he was pulling my soul out of me. He had his hands under my thighs, his grip tight. I ran my hands around the back of his head, not being able to do much else in this position. My toes curled as his tongue stretched deeper inside of me, drawing out an orgasm. My legs moved on their own and tightened around his head. X6-88 having to pull my legs off of him for risk of strangulation. 

“Was that an orgasm?” He asked me, his tone making it clear that the question was very real.   
“Yeah, a good one too. Where did you learn how to do all that?” I questioned.   
“I found some reading material in a locker,” He replied.   
“That makes sense,” I laughed.   
“Would you like me to continue? There were a few more positions listed in the book,” He stated.   
“Sure, let me see what you got,” I responded, gitty. 

X6-88 nodded at me then put me back into the original wall position. He freed his erection and slid it inside of me with no resistance. I was soaked and over-sensitive already. Hesitantly, he thrust his hips. I could see the slightest change in expression as his mouth frowned. It wasn’t an unhappy frown, but one I’ve seen on many men’s faces when they first get it in. Usually, Nate would talk about how tight it was after making it. 

He started at a slow rate, taking time to get into a groove. His length reaching all the way to the cervix and his girth stretching me. I ravished in every second, every motion, every sensation. He brought his hand up to grasp my breasts. It was a little awkward until he figured out how to grab them in a sexual way. He squeezed and kneaded me.

Without any need for direction, X6-88 picked up his pace to a steady rhythm. I wrapped my legs around his waist to encourage him. He bounced my breasts up and down. His motions were a bit comical at first, but then he unbuttoned my blouse and pulled it off. He effortlessly undid the clasp of my bra and tossed it at his feet. He kneaded me between his fingers, rolling his wrists. I could feel myself growing close to climax. He seemed to have taken notice of my face because he immediately began to thrust into me quickly. I could feel his balls slap against my ass from how vigorously he was moving. I clawed at his back as I clamped down and came on him. 

Without a word he withdrew from me and wrapped his arms around me, carrying me from against the wall and onto the floor. He didn’t give me directions, instead of talking he simply moved my body how he wanted it. I was on all fours, perfect for my favorite position. X6-88 got onto his knees and centered himself behind my ass, sliding back into me. I arched my back to give him a better angle. He started this pace faster than the last one. 

“I like it a little rough here,” I told him.   
“Yes ma’am,” he said, reaching down to me. 

He ran a hand down my spine and pushed my head slowly into the ground. The dirt was rough, but not hard enough to scratch up my face from the motions. X6-88 seemed to have read my mind again as he brought his other hand to my ass and slapped it. Because of his superhuman strength, this slap actually hurt. He hit me several times, my rear stinging, and placed his thumb on my asshole. I pushed myself against him to push it into me slightly, just enough not to hurt but enough to really feel it. 

I could feel the drool pooling out of my mouth and onto the ground. The sounds coming from me didn’t sound human and the noise of his thrusting sounded raunchy. How he was keeping himself from finishing I didn’t know. He was crashing into me, my knees scraped up from the pressure. I would have some cuts and bruises, but I wasn’t going to make him stop for any of that. I pushed myself against him more, my walls closing in on him once again. 

“Another one?” He questioned.   
“Yes, you’re good at this X6,” I turned my face to look at him.  
“Good,” the smallest hint of a smile crossed his face. 

X6-88 didn’t stop his pumping even though I came, sending chills through my body. I whimpered into the dirt as tears began to bead behind my eyes. It’s hard to explain the kind of pleasure I feel when everything feels so used and mechanical. I felt like even though he was pleasuring me he was doing this more for himself, which of course just made the whole situation hotter. 

He flipped me over onto my back and pulled my legs up over my head. I enjoyed every second of him pushing himself back in. Even though I had a couple of orgasms now, in this position he still stretched me out. He is about nine inches long, challenging Virgil in length. X6-88 pressed himself down on me until our faces met. He locked lips with me as he took his hands to grab my ankles and spread them, wide-eagle style. His head met my cervix and I cried out to him. I grabbed at his back and met his thrusts. 

I wasn’t sure how he was managing to keep up this position, but damn if I wasn’t happy that he could. He brought a hand off of my ankle and cusped my face. The action was tender, in sharp contrast to all his other motions. I brought my hands behind his head and pulled him deeper into our kiss. I let my tongue find its way to his, twirling it around. He copied my movements as he bucked into me more. I had another orgasm roll itself out on him. 

X6-88 pulled out and picked me up by the waist again as though I was a feather. He moved to my bed. This time he laid himself down and brought me down on him, bottoming out easy. We didn’t need to verbally communicate, our bodies working together flawlessly as I began to ride him. I braced my hands on his chest, pressing into him as I rolled my hips against him. I could see him sweating for the first time ever. I switched up on him and moved my hips in circles, alternating between tight and loose ones. X6-88 was biting his lip. 

He pulled himself up into me, our chests meeting. I kept my pace up as he wrapped his muscular arms around me. Sweat beads from his face rolling onto my shoulders. I threw my head back and braced one hand on his chest and the other around his head. X6-88 took the opportunity to kiss my neck and downward. He sucked my breasts once he reached them. I called out his name as he nipped my buds. I brought my head back forward to look him in the eye, our foreheads touching now. He locked eyes with me, those gorgeous grey eyes. I could see him breathing hard now, a first. 

“Are you close?” I asked him.   
“I don’t know, I’ve never-,” he trembled under me, “I haven’t before.”   
“Well, guess we’re finding out,” I smiled, maxing out my pace. 

X6-88’s hands shot to my hips, his grip like iron. He thrust into me as I rode, losing rhythm as he kept thrusting. He laid back again for a better angle. His movements became sporadic and I could feel his erection twitching inside of me. To help him cum, I bounced up and down to match his thrusting. I could see a real, unadulterated expression on his face as he came. His eyes squinted and his mouth opened, releasing a moan. This was more emotion than I thought was possible for him. 

We sat there locked together for a few moments before he broke the silence, “Did you finish again?”   
“Not that time, but I’ve had plenty now,” I smiled at him.   
“Then we’re not done,” he stated, pulling me back in for another lip-locking session. 

He pulled himself out, his member still hard. I could feel as he ran his hands up and down my sides. He plucked me up again and this time he had me lay flat into the bed.

“Brace yourself,” He commanded. 

I pulled myself onto my elbows. X6-88 hoisted my legs past his head and pulled me up while he stood on his knees. He spread my legs enough to make room for himself, then somehow managed to push himself in. I was really curious about what reading material he found to know all this, the kama sutra perhaps? I could feel him forcing another orgasm out of me. His hard work was paid off in an overzealous way as I screamed as I finished, thoroughly exhausted. 

“We can continue if you want Olivia,” He said.   
I replied, “That’s okay, I think any more and I’m going to pass out.”   
“Do you need to rest?” He asked me, picking up my clothes.   
“Maybe,” I took the clothes from him and started dressing.   
“I’m sorry if my...orgasming inside of you was offensive. The book didn’t mention what I should do,” He put his glasses back on.   
I pulled my pants up, “No it’s fine. Normally you would ask about what the other person wants before you start, but this wasn’t normal circumstances.”   
“I don’t know if I was made sterile or not,” He sounded slightly worried.   
“Don’t worry X6, I’m not some fertile breeding ground myself,” I laughed, “It took me years of trying to get Shaun,” I explained.  
“I’m sorry,” He replied.   
“Not your fault,” I smiled, “Mother Nature’s just a bitch is all. Now how about we jump back in that bed for a quick rest.


	59. Farewell Shaun, Hello Shaun

I rested on X6’s bare chest, his heartbeat a slow rhythm that soothed me to sleep. He was only wearing his pants, his abs exposed and rock hard. I brought a hand over them, rubbing up and down his stomach and pecs. 

“Hey X6,” I said.   
“Yes?” He replied.   
“How do you feel?” I asked him.   
“Like I just won every fight I’ve ever been in at the same time,” He looked to me with a slight smile on his face.   
“That’s nice,” I kissed his cheek.   
“We should probably return to the others,” he stated.   
“Yeah, but there is something I need to do first,” I crawled down the bed.   
“What’s that?” He questioned.   
“I need to pay you back for something you did,” I began to undo his pants.   
“Oh,” he sounded intrigued. 

I fumbled with his belt for a moment, then freed his half-erect penis from his trousers. I kept my eyes locked on X6 while I started licking up and down the shaft, around his balls, and on the tip. X6 was making some soft noises, as though he wanted to fight feeling happy. 

“Do you want me to stop?” I asked.   
“Hell no, shit,” he cursed. 

I laughed and continued. With his erection full now, I began to take him in my mouth. He stiffened under me, then his whole body relaxed as I pushed him into my throat. I held back my gag reflex, wanting to give him my all. I choked a bit as he was bottoming out, tears filling my eyes. I bobbed my head up and down on him, relaxing my throat the best I could.

X6-88 started moving his hips with me, thrusting into my mouth. I could already feel him twitching in me. It wouldn’t be long before he finishes. I rolled my tongue around him while he thrust, applying slight pressure from my lips. X6 grabbed my head, pushing me down further on him. I gagged, but I enjoyed it. He throat fucked me vigorously, cumming hard. I swallowed and put himself back into his pants.

I crawled back up to him, “how was that?”  
“Pleasurable,” He breathed.   
“So, what do you want this to be?” I asked him.   
“Whatever you want it to,” he answered, “I’m happy just being around you.”   
“Alright, no pressure then,” I nervously laughed.   
“I know you have other partners and I won’t ask you to cut them off,” He stated.   
“I’m surprised,” I said, “why don’t we go ahead and get out of here?”   
…

Preston was resting in the medic’s room. I gave him the key to my office, assuring him that I would be coming back for my things at another time. I did take all my spare clothes, a few shirts and pairs of pants. I had changed into jeans, a tank top, and a red flannel overshirt. The jeans only had a few tears in them and were cleaned before I put them away in storage. 

“The look suits you,” X6 sounded surprised.   
“Well, I was southern born and raised,” I shrugged, “I’d bet it would look better on you.”   
“We’ll never know,” He smiled at me. 

I liked this levity between us. He was relaxed, letting emotions out. It was also very, very hot. I would be repeating what happened tonight a few times over with him in every room I owned across the Commonwealth. Not just in rooms either, outside would be nice too. Get adventurous with it. Something about being with X6 felt different than with everyone else. Maybe it was love or just the fact he gave me more orgasms than anyone ever has at once. Either way, I was into it. 

We made our way back to the Institute. I was on the hunt for a body for Curie. X6-88 told me that Shaun wouldn’t want to give me one, but I was sure I could convince him. There was a crowd around Shaun’s room, they all parted when they saw me. There was a sad look in their eyes. 

There he was, Shaun, laying in his little hospital bed. The doctor was with him, looking gloomy. I knew that look in his eyes. Its the look of a man who is about to see another man die. It was something I saw a lot more than I ever wanted to during my ER rotations. My heart sunk when I saw Shaun. His eyes were very sunken, severe dehydration. His eyes were a slight yellow color. This was it. 

“Son?” I whispered, already knowing what was happening.   
“Hello Mother,” his voice was strained.   
The tears let loose as I ran to hug him, “I love you so much, Shaun.”   
“I love you to mother. I’m afraid our time together is coming to an end,” He replied.   
“There was still so much to say,” I sobbed.   
“I know, but what time we did have together was precious. I’m so happy I got to meet you before my life ended,” he was calm.   
I held his hand, “You’re so calm, I’m glad. I’ve seen people who struggle toward the end. I’m glad you found peace.”   
“Yes, a peace I could only have knowing you’re going to take my place here. You’ll be the best Director yet,” He smiled at me, looking just like his dad.   
“You look so much like your dad,” I stroked his face, “He loved you so much.”   
“I know. I didn’t know him, but I know I love him too,” A tear rolled from his eye.   
“Say hi to him for me,” I clutched the bed feeling like I was going to faint. I knew this was coming, but nothing can prepare a mother for the death of her child. It’s not the order that things are supposed to go in. X6-88 put a hand on my shoulder.   
“Take care of her for me,” Shaun said to X6-88, “Mother, there is one more matter I need you to take care of.”   
“Anything son,” I said.   
“S9-23, Shaun, raise him as you would have me. I didn’t just have him made out of curiosity, I wanted to give you a chance to raise your son again,” Shaun smiled at me, “I had his memory replaced to know that you are his mother and he will respond to you just as I did when I was his age. He is a perfect copy of my DNA.”   
“Oh Shaun, no one will replace the real you,” I hugged him again, “but I will raise him just like I would you. He will be my son too.”   
“Thank you, mother. Please, when I’m gone move on with your life. You deserve a chance of a real nuclear family again,” He maintained his smile. “I’m so proud to be your son.” 

I watched the light behind his eyes fade, like a candle being blown out. This wasn’t how most people passed, there were no gulps of air or struggling. No, he had been sedated. I looked to the doctor who nodded at me, an empty syringe in his hands. 

“He wanted to go calmly,” he said to me.   
“Good,” I turned back to Shaun’s body, closing his eyes.   
“We can leave if you need to, go wherever you want for a while,” X6-88 whispered in my ear.   
“That would be great, but now I have some real business to handle,” I set my shoulders back and walked to the crowd outside. 

I wiped the tears from my eyes, “Everyone, please listen,” I grabbed a stool and stood on top of it to see everyone, “Shaun is no longer with us. He passed peacefully with no regrets. I now stand before you as your Director. It is with a heavy heart I take the burden. Knowing my son has led you well and left me in the best position to serve the Institute gives me pride. There will be big changes in the months to come, but for now that can wait. We will morn the loss of Shaun. Please, take the day off from your duties. Only essential operations will continue by first and second-generation synths. Third generation synths, including coursers, will be given the day off also in remembrance of who made their existence possible. Please, visit with him if you need to. I will be around should you have need of me.” I got off the stool, applauds coming from the group.   
“That was a great speech ma’am,” X6-88 told me.   
“Thank you. Oh, that day off thing applies to you too. No requirement to follow me around all day,” I told him.   
“I know, I want to follow you around today,” He looked around then sneaked a kiss on the top of my head.   
“Thanks X6, I really need to not be alone right now,” I admitted.   
“I know,” he replied.   
“Do you know where I can find kid Shaun?” I asked him.   
“He is usually in Advanced Systems,” he answered.   
“Let’s head there then.” 

… 

“Mom!” Shaun came running up to me as I entered Advanced Systems.   
I wrapped my arms around him, “hey son.”   
“Mom, can we go above ground?” He has the excitement of every stereotypical ten year old.   
“Oh, you want to go topside? You know it’s really dangerous up there,” I squatted to meet his eyes.   
“I heard there was this city up there that was safe,” he pushed.   
“Yeah, we can go to Diamond city soon,” I rubbed his hair.   
“Awesome!” He hugged my neck, “I love you, mom.”   
I hugged him back, “I love you too Shaun. Get a bag packed, we’ll go to Diamond City in the morning.”   
“Is that wise ma’am?” X6-88 asked me.   
“I need some room to breathe, It’ll just be a one day trip. We’ll be fine,” I assured him.   
“Understood.” 

We made our way to Robotics for me to get a synth made for Curie. Surprisingly, no one questioned why I wanted a synth ready to program. The body made was an attractive woman who, amazingly, looked french. I instructed her to get to Sanctuary and tell Curie how to program herself into the body. I headed to bed afterward, needing a good rest. X6-88 climbing into bed with me, letting me curl up on his chest again. 

…

“Woah, this is Diamond city?” Shaun’s eyes were wide as we walked into the city gate.   
“Yes Shaun, and I have some friends here that will be happy to meet you,” I already felt very protective over Shaun, even though I’ve only been his mom a day.   
“Keep your eye out for danger,” X6-88 told him.   
“Yes sir,” Shaun walked a little ahead of us.   
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” X6-88 asked me.   
“Yeah, I already feel like I’m his mom. Like an adoptive mother,” I smiled at him, “It’s making losing Shaun easier. I’m grateful for his gift to me, and he is technically my biological son. Nate lives on in him too.”   
“I see,” He said, keeping his eyes locked on Shaun, who was now checking out every stall.   
“Ah! Olivia,” Dr. Sun called out to me.  
“Good morning Sunny,” I waved to him.   
“And who’s this young man?” He crouched down.   
“I’m Shaun,” he stuck his hand out for a handshake.   
“Such manners, wait, Shaun? You found him?” Dr. Sun looked at me, smiling.   
“I did,” I rubbed Shaun’s head.   
“Does he need a check-up?” He asked me.   
“No he’s healthy and good to go, thank you though,” I gave Dr. Sun a hug.   
“Well that’s good then, I’m glad you found him,” He hugged me back.

We made our first stop at the Dugout inn. Vadim didn’t announce my arrival this time but walked from behind the counter to meet us halfway into the room. 

“Olivia! Who is this?” He looked to Shaun.   
“This is Shaun, Vadim,” I said to him, Yefim already on his way over.   
“Shaun?” Yefim asked, eyes wide.   
“Yeah. Shaun, say hi to Vadim and Yefim,” I rubbed his shoulders.   
“Hey there,” He looked excited to see the two huge men.   
“So you found him!” Vadim shouted.   
“That I did,” I smiled to Vadim.   
“I thought I’d let you two be some of the first people I introduced him to,” I looked to Yefim, “Hope that’s okay.”   
Yefim wrapped an arm around my waist and another on my head, pulling me into him, “Of course it’s okay. I love kids Olivia.”   
“Good, I had a feeling you would say that,” I kissed his cheek. I could feel X6’s eyes burning into me.   
“Olivia, if you stay here with me,” Yefim whispered, “I’d be happy to give you more children.”   
I blushed, “Good to know.”   
“I believe we had other people to see, Olivia,” X6 interrupted.   
“That’s right. I’ll be back guys.” I turned and walked out.   
“We’ll be here,” Yefim replied.   
…

“Who are we seeing next mom?” Shaun asked me.   
“A very old friend. He’s a detective,” I held Shaun’s hand.   
“I haven’t heard much about this friend,” X6-88 replied.   
“Well, I couldn’t risk the Institute taking him back,” I explained.   
“I see, so he is a synth then?” He asked.   
“Yeah, an old prototype,” I answered. 

I opened the door to the agency, Nick fussing through the papers on his desk. Ellie was searching through some drawers. 

Nick looked up at me, his eyebrows raising, “Olivia?”   
“In the flesh. Didn’t expect me back so soon huh?” I rubbed Shaun’s head, “I wanted you to meet Shaun.”   
“Shaun? I thought Shaun-”  
“Was never to be found? Yeah, I’ll explain in private,” I said.   
“Well hey there kid, I’m Nick,” His yellow eyes fell on Shaun.  
“Wow, you’re a robot!” Shaun exclaimed, letting go of my hand to approach Nick.   
“Heh, yeah I guess I am,” Nick chuckled.   
“That’s so cool!” Shaun stared.   
“And you must be X6-88?” Nick looked at him.   
“I see you knew more about me than I, you,” X6 replied.   
“It would seem so,” Nick glared at me.   
I felt the eyes of both men, “Wow would you look at the time, better get some lunch hey Shaun? X6, would you mind taking Shaun to the power noodle stand so I can speak to Nick for a moment?”   
“Sure,” X6 took Shaun’s hand and led him out.   
“Alright Olivia, what the hell is going on,” Nick spat.   
“The Shaun I gave birth to...he died yesterday,” I could already feel my eyes glass over and a frown crossed my face, “He left to me this Shaun. The first and only child synth.”   
Nick moved to me and grabbed my hands in his, “And you’re okay raising him like this?”   
“I am. It’s my chance to be a mother again, I may not get it again,” I explained.   
“Well, couldn’t you have another child? You’re still young doll,” He stroked the tear off my cheek.   
“I know I never really told you about this, but I really may not be able to have any more children. Shaun was my miracle baby,” I replied.   
“Damn, I’m sorry Olivia,” He kissed my forehead, unashamed of Ellie still being in the room.   
“I’ve already came to terms with it, I’m focused now on raising this boy as normal as possible. He’s my flesh and blood too.”   
“That’s true. So long as you’re happy, I’m happy,” He leaned into my ear, “I don’t mind having a kid.”   
“Oh Nick,” I hit his chest, “I’m still thinking your proposal over.”   
“No rush doll, now go get some food with your son,” He slapped my ass as I turned to leave.   
…

Piper was also surprised and suspicious like Nick was, but she was overjoyed to see me being a mother. Come to think of it, Piper seemed a little too happy to see me. She held onto me a little longer than normal and her cheeks were a bit pink. Maybe she finally started day drinking. 

We spent the rest of the daylight going from stall to stall, letting Shaun explore. We even took him to meet the mayor, who I found out was a synth. Now that it was getting dark, we headed back to the Dugout.


	60. Freakshow

“And then she scooped him up from her chair and shot him in face!” Vadim exclaimed to several patrons at the bar.  
“Making up stories again Vadim?” I questioned as I approached the bar, causing the customers to nearly jump out of their seats.  
“Embellishing!” He defended.  
“That’s a big word for your vocabulary,” I laughed.  
“He’s been doing better,” Yefim came to his brother’s defense.  
“Well that’s good, what’s on the menu for tonight?” I asked Yefim.  
“Brahmin steaks, mole rat chunks, and mutfruit,” He informed me, “I could find something else if that’s not good to you.”  
“Oh no,” I put a hand on his shoulder, “That’s plenty fine, no need to do extra work for me. I’ll go for the brahmin steak and some mutfruit. What do you two want?”  
“What’s a mole rat?” Shaun asked me.  
“Good question, how about you eat some and find out?” I suggested.  
“Okay!” He was excited.  
“X6?” I turned to him.  
“Just the mutfruit,” He said.  
“Oh come on, you need more than that,” I huffed.  
“I have food supplement,” He replied.  
“Get him a brahmin steak too,” I told Yefim, handing Vadim the total caps. 

We took a seat at the table nearest the rest of the couches and chairs so I could listen in on the clients’ stories. A man named Hawhorne had stories similar to my own. He was speaking to some men about an encounter with a deathclaw and how he managed to run away from it with his life intact. Listening to the conversation took my mind off of Shaun and how badly I wanted some jet right now. Guess a trip to Hancock was overdue now. 

Yefim brought out our plates with a smile to everyone except X6-88. His jealousy was so clear on his face. I would have to sit him down eventually to talk to him about it, but now wasn’t the time. Now I had to put on a fake smile for little Shaun. I wanted to show him a good time before I disappeared again. 

There was still so much to do before I could start to settle. Who on earth was I going to settle with anyways? Nick and Yefim have both propositioned me and they both had their pros and cons, but there are still several other potential options. MacCready had a son about Shaun’s age, they could be brothers. Cait was the strongest person I knew. Danse was similar to Yefim in that soft and hard kind of way, but Danse actually has the skills to protect me. Hancock would probably be down to make something serious, but I don’t want to ask him to change up lifestyles. I don’t even know what X6 and I are. God am I going to need a few stiff drinks alone. 

“Olivia,” Yefim started, “mind if I join your meal?”  
“Of course not,” I pulled myself closer to Shaun to make room for him.  
“So Shaun, do you like it here in Diamond city?” He asked.  
“Oh yeah, it’s way cooler here than back home,” Shaun replied between bites of mole rat.  
“Sounds like he’d be happy staying,” Yefim whispered to me.  
“Oh stop it,” I hit his shoulder, “Don’t push my buttons.”  
“Your buttons aren’t what I want to push,” he smiled at me.  
“Shaun is safer back home,” X6 hating not being able to say Institute.  
“Is that so?” Yefim challenged X6.  
“Yeah, it’s so boring though. All I do is take apart stuff,” Shaun was oblivious to the situation.  
“He is great with guns,” I admitted trying to break the awkwardness.  
“He has the intelligence of his Father,” X6 mentioned.  
“That’s not really true,” I laughed thinking of Nate, “His father was not the sharpest knife in the box.”  
“He had to be some kind of smart to pick you,” Yefim said to me.  
“You’re sweet,” I touched his arm.  
“We should be returning home soon,” X6 cut in.  
“That’s true,” I sighed, leaning back into my chair.  
“You have a place here,” Yefim countered.  
“No Yefim, he’s right. There’s family business I need to handle, this trip was just for Shaun,” I defended X6.  
“I want to stay longer,” Shaun pouted.  
“I know, but we’ll make more trips here. I’ll even take you to some settlements in time,” I pat his head.  
“Anyways, I won’t be gone too long Yefim. I’ll be in the area some too. I’ll be heading to Goodneighbor once I get this business settled,” I informed the table.  
“What do you need from there?” X6 asked.  
“That’s a dangerous area Olivia,” Yefim added.  
“I have friends there you know,” I laughed, “I’ve been around the block before I met either of you.”  
“A friend or a friend?” Yefim asked me, X6 leaning in to hear my answer.  
“Both,” I huffed, “Now if you’re satisfied, I’d like to eat this steak.” 

We finished up the meal, Yefim and X6-88 giving each other daggers all night. The farewells were just as awkward. I showed Shaun Homeplate before we headed out of the city’s gates and teleported back to the Institute. 

…*boring Institute business*... 

“You’re not talking me out of going,” I said to X6 as he stood in my doorway. I was moving my things into what was Shaun’s room.  
“Shit Olivia, at least let me go with you,” He replied, leaning his head on the door frame.  
“What part of alone time didn’t you get X6?” I countered.  
“Olivia-”  
“No X6. This isn’t up for debate. I can handle myself fine,” I interrupted.  
“This is the dumbest decision I’ve seen you make that wasn’t about your sexual choices,” X6 gabbed.  
“Hey mister, you’re one of them now,” I marched over to him and reached up to grab his glasses, “How do I look?” I asked him as I put them on and leaned an arm on the door.  
“I’d rather show you,” X6 said as he scooped me up from my armpits and carried me to the king sized bed with freshly pressed sheets.  
“Unit X6-88, what are you doing?” I teased.  
“Whatever you ask me to do,” He laid me down on the bed and crawled over me, looking up at me from my stomach.  
I felt butterflies in my stomach, “Whatever I ask?”  
“Yes ma’am,” He kissed my stomach through my clothes.  
“Well then, I think I’ll ask for you to keep kissing me,” I replied.  
“Yes ma’am,” X6 answered. 

He unbuttoned my blouse, exposing my flesh. Slowly he trailed his lips across my stomach, my skin puckering. I could feel his breath, soft and even. He used his hands to brush my blouse to my sides and found his way up my chest to my neck. X6 paid special attention to my neck, learning now how much I love the attention there. I arched my back and he instinctively ran a hand under it, pulling me gently up into him. My breath caught in my throat as he sucked on my neck. I let my head roll back, gasping his name as he pulled me up tighter to him. I could feel his erection press against me. 

“What do you want?” He whispered in my ear, drawing out a soft moan.  
“I want you to take me,” I answered.  
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a smile. 

X6-88 moved himself back down my body, running his hands down my sides. He reached my hips and slowly pulled off my pants. Starting at my ankles, he kissed up to my thighs. He stopped just shy of my underwear. His hands slid down my sides to hips and began to pull it off. 

“I want you inside of me,” I said as he rubbed my clit with a thumb.  
“Done with the foreplay already ma’am?” He questioned, pushing a finger into me.  
“I just can’t wait for you,” I answered, arching my hips.  
“As you wish,” he withdrew his hands and began to undress himself. 

I watched him lift his shirt off, his muscles tight and a modest patch of curly hair trailing down to his erection. I could watch this on loop forever. He undid his pants and pulled them off with his boxers. His member had a curve to it, just a slight upwards tilt. That must be why it hits the right spot everytime. X6-88 glided down to my body, his member finding my folds and going in smoothly. 

“Shit,” He breathed in my ear as he pressed all of himself in.  
“How vulgar,” I teased, letting out a soft moan.  
“I know that’s how you like it,” He countered, brushing my hair out of my face.  
I pressed my face into his hand, “You sure seem to know what I like.”  
“Yes ma’am,” he said, sending a rough thrust into me.  
I gasped, “Fuck.”  
“Now who is vulgar?” He asked.  
“Me, what are you going to do about it?” I replied with a grin.  
“Hmmm,” He pumped hard again, “How about that?”  
“Oh I’ll never learn my lesson like that sir,” I whispered in his ear.  
His whole body tightened at my use of the word sir, “What did you call me?”  
“Sir,” I said louder.  
A full smile crossed his face, “I like the sound of that.”  
“Prove it, sir,” I pressed. 

X6 propped himself on his forearms and rolled his hips to mine. He moved like a boy band dancer would, his body fluid. I felt like our souls were matched, my breath not finding me easily. His muscles danced as he picked up his pace, sweat dripping off of his forehead. I locked eyes with him, wrapping my arms around his neck. The grey eyes shot directly to my core, making me tremble under him. I know lust was part of the equation, but I could feel a touch of something more. 

I kissed his lips as he leaned down to my face. His beautiful eyes shielded by their lids as he pumped harder into me. His breath was growing more irregular and sweat beaded all the way down his body. 

“Shit,” He uttered, his hips moving even faster.  
“Can’t last much longer?” I asked.  
“No,” he breathed, “I don’t think I can.” He looked upset at himself.  
“It’s fine X6,” I kissed him again, “You can cum first, I don’t mind.”  
“You sure?” He questioned, sounding unsure.  
“Yes love, it’s completely fine,” I laughed.  
“Love?” The question came out the moment he couldn’t take anymore and spilled inside of me.

He locked eyes with me waiting for my reply. I didn’t know why I called him love. Was that what I was feeling? Did I mean it in a friendly sense? I love many people so that wouldn’t be weird, but it did feel a little different with him. Something intense like I had felt with Nick all that time ago. 

“Yes?” I said.  
“Do you…” he withdrew from me and sat down at the edge of the bed, “do you love me?”  
“I-I think I do,” I blurted out.  
“Like how you love Yefim and Danse?” His head tilted slightly.  
“I don’t know,” I admitted, “I have some intense feelings but I don’t know how to explain.”  
“I understand. Would you like me to continue?” He grabbed a cloth from nearby and cleaned himself off.  
“No that’s okay, I’ve been pleasured enough,” Truthfully, I just was conflicted.  
“Are you sure ma’am?” He moved to clean me off now, his seed dripping out of me.  
“Yes, you tired me out X6,” I replied, patting beside myself to encourage him to come over.  
“Ready for bed?” He questioned.  
“Almost, stay with me tonight?” I asked.  
“Of course.”  
…  
X6-88 was not happy about me going to Goodneighbor alone and I didn’t blame him. If he knew that I was going to get shitfaced he would have forced me to stay. I wanted to be away from everything and get lost for a while. I needed to not think of my son, the one I gave birth to, and I knew just the guy to go to. 

I made my way up the stairwell, getting greeted by Fahrenheit. She opened the door for me and the smell of jet and booze filled the air. I walked in, clad in only a pair of tights and a fitted flannel shirt with my 9mm on me, and made my way to Hancock. He wasn’t wearing his overcoat and was sprawled out on his couch, smoking a cigar. 

“Well, well, well, look who came crawling back,” He smiled at me, getting up to greet me. “What can I do for the new director?”  
“You know?” I began to panic.  
“Don’t worry, it’s not common information. It took a lot of caps and hands to grease to get it,” He embraced me, “So what can I do for you?”  
I handed him a bag full of caps, “I need to get away from the world for a while.”  
“I can do that,” he took the caps and tossed it on his desk, reaching inside and pulling out my poison of choice.  
I took the jet out of his hands and inhaled it, “thanks Hancock.”  
“Anytime,” he reached a hand out to me and pulled me into him, “Is that the only vice you want?”  
“No,” I whispered in his ear, “but it’s a start.”  
“Heh, I like the sound of that. Want to get this freakshow on the road?” He ran a hand down my spine to grip my ass.  
“Sounds good to me,” I took another hit, “to the Third Rail?”  
“Hell yeah.”


	61. Hammered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy some smut about a lesser appreciated raisin

I was cross faded. I took another hit of jet, my vision blurry. Hancock handed me another shot of whiskey and I drank it. The room was moving around me slowly. I couldn’t think of much of anything, let alone Shaun. The patrons at the bar were ignoring my existence, which was good. Didn’t need any attention on me when I’m like this. 

“Want another round or are you at your limit Sunshine?” Hancock asked, placing a calloused hand on my thigh.   
“I think I’m-I’m good,” I put a hand on his shoulder feeling too dizzy to stand.   
“Ah shit Sunshine, your limit happened a while ago didn’t it?” Hancock grabbed my face in his hands.   
“Eyup,” I hiccupped.   
“Stay here, I’ll get Ham to help me get you out of here,” Hancock darted out of his seat and up the stairs, his frock flowing behind him. 

I laid my head down on the bar, facing Magnolia. Her voice was sweet honey but her words saddened eyes. She was the embodiment of Goodneighbor, a sweet freedom with a steep cost. She had just stopped her next song and headed toward the bar, toward me. 

“Hey there sweetie, you don’t look too good,” She said as she sat next to me.   
“Heh. It’s been a while since someone told me that,” I thought to all the sexual encounters I’ve had, “It’s okay, you look good enough for the both of us.”   
“That’s kind of you,” she grabbed a drink, “I can see you’re drowning your sorrows like everyone else here. What are you running from?”   
“A mother having to outlive her son,” I picked my head up from the bar and managed to look her eye to eye, “no one should live that.”   
“It’s an unforgiving wasteland,” she sighed, patting my leg, “You look strong, you’ll get through it.”   
“Olivia!” Hancock called out, raising an eyebrow at Magnolia’s hand on my leg, “What did I miss?”   
“Nothing much,” Magnolia winked at me and made her way back to the stage.   
“I leave you alone for five mintues and you have Mags touching on you? Nice one,” Hancock ushered Ham over, “Help grab her other side will you?” 

Ham grunted in response and took my left arm over his shoulder, Hancock taking my right. They lugged me all the way up to Hancock’s room, laying me on the couch. Ham didn’t look too pleased at having done this. Hancock brought me a blanket and told me to lay on my side. The last thing I saw that night was the three jet canisters I emptied before going for drinks. 

I had very lucid dreams that night, very psychedelic in nature. Images of everyone I’ve slept with and everyone I killed morphing into bursts of colors and shapes. I woke up with the biggest hangover of my life. Thankfully, Hancock prepared and had black coffee and buffout waiting on the table for me. He really treats me too well. 

“Hey there Sunshine,” he grinned at me with yellowed teeth.   
“Thank you so much Hancock,” I said as I grabbed up the coffee and pills, “Was Ham upset at helping me back?”   
“Ham? He’s always grumpy, don’t worry about it,” He assured me, “I think you ought to lay off the goods for today though.”   
“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on repeating last night,” I told him.   
“I have a few mayoral duties to handle today, but I’m all yours tonight,” He placed a kiss on my forehead.  
“I’ll be counting the minutes,” I smiled at him as he left the room. 

I downed my coffee and gave myself a little time to adjust to the light before I freshened myself up and headed out. I took a few hits of jet and a shot of whiskey for the road. I needed to apologize to Ham or I was going to feel bad about it for weeks. I walked into the Third Rail and headed straight to Ham, who didn’t look happy to see me. 

“Good afternoon Ham,” I waved at him. He just looked at me. “So...I wanted to apologise about last night, I-”   
“Don’t worry about it, it’s my job,” he crossed his arms.   
“Well it was still wrong of me to let myself get that wasted, so I’m sorry for that,” I continued, “Could I make it up to you over lunch?”   
“You want to eat with me?” Ham asked me like I was stupid.   
“As a way to apologise, yes,” I answered.   
“Do I look like I want to eat with you?” His black eyes stared into mine.   
“I don’t know since I know almost nothing about you, but I’d like to remedy that,” I tried to keep my voice smooth while on the inside I was a little shaken.   
“Look kid, I don’t know what your angle here is but I’m just trying to do my job,” He replied.   
“No angles, just an honest offer. If you aren’t interested I understand, part of me was just looking for company I think,” I explained.   
“Company?” He questioned.   
“Yeah, I don’t have anywhere to be until tonight,” I said.   
“Alright, didn’t expect that from you. Grab us something from the bar and bring it to my room at the hotel. It’s the third door on the right, I’ll be taking my break,” He made his way out. 

I grabbed some mutfruit, nuka cola, and some roasted mirelurk. There was a lot of mirelurk available around the Commonwealth for some reason. It didn’t take me long to find Ham’s room, I knocked on the dusty door and he let me in. He had taken off his jacket, his sleeves rolled up slightly. He was a very sturdy built man, the opposite of Hancock’s build. I could already feel my mind wandering places it shouldn’t, mostly because of the alcohol. 

We sat down at a small table, eating mostly in silence. I made some small talk, learned a little about his background and how he ended up a bouncer. Turns out he was a prewar ghoul, which gave us some common ground. He didn’t like talking about the past though. I assume because he’s lived through so much and I wasn’t going to push him on the topic. 

“Olivia,” he started.   
“Yes Ham?” I asked.   
“Thank you for this, you didn’t have to do this,” He continued.   
“I know, I just wanted to,” I smiled at him.   
“You remind me of the past,” he took a deep breath in, “I like to act like I don’t remember what the world was like, but it’s impossible when you’re around. Even with your scars, you still carry yourself and behave like the world didn’t change. From what I hear about you, you still have your compassion.”   
“Thanks Ham, I try to hold on to the good things,” I looked at my plate, “We’ve been through too much you know. It’s important to get some happiness where you can, and give it while you can.”   
Ham put a hand on my knee, “I think I lost my ability to be happy.”   
“No one loses that entirely, it just gets misplaced,” I put my hand on his to show support.

…*conversing about the old world*…

“I have to ask you about a rumor I’ve heard,” he said, “Do you...are you-that is, do you have sex with ghouls?”   
I spit out some of my Nuka Cola, “Who told you about that?”   
“So you do huh?” He leaned over the table, keeping his hand on me.   
“I don’t really care about how someone’s skin looks. I’m not some bigot. But yes, I have slept with one ghoul on a few occasions,” I could feel my face turn red.   
“Just one? Hancock I presume,” he ran his hand up to my thigh.   
“I’m sure it’s easy to deduce. Why?” I knew why.   
“Well you said you wanted some company, so would you like mine?” His hand was on my inner thigh.   
“That’s-that’s not what I meant earlier,” I stammered, not stopping his movements.   
“That wasn’t a no,” He replied, “but I’m going to need to hear a yes.”   
“Yes,” I blurted out without too much thought, I guess I just wanted to feel good for a while.   
“Atta girl,” He stood up from his chair, a rock hard erection already visible from his pants.   
“What do you want to do?” I asked him sheepishly.   
“A lot, but I’ll settle for whatever you’re comfortable with,” he replied.   
“Well, I have a thought,” I said, eyeing the last mutfruit on the table.   
“Oh, so you know about that trick?” He laughed.   
“Well, I know of it with a grapefruit,” I laughed back.   
“Be my guest,” he took off his pants, his erection springing up. 

I took a small knife that he had on the table and cut a hole into the center of the mutfruit. I’ve done this trick a lot with Nate when we were in college. I put the mutfruit on his erection, sliding it down to the base. Ham rolled his head then looked at me as I brought my face to him. 

I locked eyes with him, taking all of it in my mouth. He groaned a bit as I hit the mutfruit, water already beginning to form behind my eyes. My body knew what I was attempting, extra saliva building in my mouth and dripping down. 

“Fuck,” Ham breathed, thrusting a little into me, “I can see why Hancock likes you.” 

I braced one hand on his stomach and my other wrapped on the mutfruit. I moved the mutfruit to match the bobbing of my head. The juice of the fruit mixed with my spit, drenching his member. Ham wasn’t afraid to moan out loud and showed me just that. Hearing his vocals made my throat relax, inching him a little deeper into me. 

Ham brought a hand into my hair and forced my head down on him. I gagged, but kept up the good work. He thrusted my head onto him again and again, my sex now as wet as my mouth. I gasped for air between thrusts. I hate to admit that I was enjoying the abuse. Ham couldn’t handle the heat anymore and came into my throat, the salty seed dripping down waiting to be swallowed. 

“Holy shit,” He gasped for air.   
I wiped my face with my sleeve, “I try.”   
“You succeed. I haven’t had sex in fifty years and you hit me with the best of my life,” He reached for his unopened bottle of nuka cola, handing it to me.   
I took several sips, “Glad to be of assistance.”   
“I shouldn’t just leave you like that though, you want to cum too right?” He asked, his penis already half erect.   
“You don’t need to push yourself now, I can take a raincheck,” I told him. “How do you feel about a threesome?”   
“With Hancock?” He questioned.   
“Yeah, I’ll need to ask him about it but he’ll probably say yes,” I explained, knowing that Hancock was ragingly bisexual and up for almost anything.   
“I’ve never been in a threesome, it could be fun,” he said.   
“Oh it is,” I smiled at the memory of Nick and Hancock.   
“It looks like I’m ready to go now,” Ham stroked his erection.   
“In that case, why don’t you show me what you got?” I teased. 

Ham had me get onto his bed on all fours. He slid inside of me, commenting on how wet and hot I felt. He gripped onto my hips and rocked himself. He was of modest size, but knew how to make each stroke count. I pushed my hips back into him, forcing him to stay inside while he rocked. Ham brought a hand to my ass and slapped it. I let a moan escape my lips.

“You can be louder than that I’m sure,” he said.   
“Only when I’m made to,” I teased, looking back at him. 

Ham grunted and withdrew, picking me up and flipping me over. He had to squat a little as he inserted himself back in. He leaned down and put a thumb to my clit. This time I did moan louder as he relentlessly pounded into me. He grabbed my neck with his other hand, the flesh tough like leather. He forced me to prop myself up and look him in the eye. My mouth instinctively fell open with my whimpers and various other noises. Ham brought his mouth to mine and forced his tongue inside it. I met him with my own, mewling as he picked up the pace. It wasn’t long before I was cumming on him. 

“Fuck,” I uttered.   
“Such a dirty word from such a pretty mouth,” he pressed a thumb on my lips, forcing my mouth open, “Who's going to be a good girl for me?”  
“I am,” I played along.   
“Good, clean me up then,” he pulled himself out and waited on me to position myself. 

I laid down on the bed, facing up and letting my head fall back over the edge of the bed. Ham smiled and eased himself in my open throat. I felt a kind of bliss at the rough texture of his erection as it glided down my mouth. Tasting myself on him was an added bonus. Ham didn’t last long, pulling out to cum on my face and neck. 

“Been a long time since someone gave me a pearl necklace,” I laughed, grabbing a cloth to wipe my face off.   
“Is that what it’s called?” He said more than asked.   
“Let me go talk to Hancock and see if we can get this ball rolling,” I stood up and started to dress myself.   
“I’ll be at the Third Rail once you get your answer,” Ham replied, “I look forward to it.” 

I made it out of the hotel and headed to where I think Hancock was. He was going to want to hear all the juicy details, although the sex seemed to make me even more confused at what I felt for X6-88. I came here to not think, just to exist. I really didn’t come here for sex although it always seems to find me. Since I was here though, might as well go with it. I pushed my thoughts of X6 to the side. All I wanted now was just about getting fucked up again.


	62. Feelings

I tipped my head back to take Hancock into my mouth, his ruined skin pressing against my tongue. The jet in my system letting my throat loosen and my gag reflex calm. Ham was at my hips, pressing himself into me. I took in a deep breath, the smoke from Hancock’s cigar thick in the air. I closed my eyes trying to let myself fall into the moment, to let myself forget everything for a few moments. 

Ham placed his scotch on the table by the couch. He pulled my ass closer to him, beginning to thrust in me. I was so loose from the drugs I almost couldn’t feel anything, or maybe that was the alcohol? Hancock moaned with his head facing the ceiling, grabbing my attention. I was so lost in the thought of trying to forget I forgot he was pumping into my throat. 

“Want another hit? You’re starting to tighten up on me,” Hancock asked, bring the jet to my mouth and pulling himself out. I took the inhaler greedily, puffing three times before handing it back.   
“You should bring the med-x,” I told him.   
“What do you want that for?” Ham asked, enjoying himself.   
“I want Hancock in my ass while you stay there,” I replied, feeling extra hot.   
“It’s always anal with you huh Sunshine?” Hancock laughed, injecting the med-x into my thigh. 

There was a sharp pinch and then nothing as the medicine flowed through me. I positioned myself to straddle Ham, bringing my sex down on him. Hancock watched for a few moments before taking his spot behind me. He squatted a bit, with an oiled up erection, bottomed himself out. Ham brought a hand up to pull my hair back, forcing his mouth on my neck. He nipped at me while Hancock gripped my ass like he was holding on for dear life. 

I could almost feel their members rub together inside of me. Without the med-x and jet, I probably would never be loose enough for this. I reached my hand out to the scotch that Ham laid down. Hancock followed my eyes and brought the glass to my lips, burning down my throat. 

Ham came inside, unable to keep up with my bouncing. Hancock made a cutting remark and brought his hand around my waist to finger me. Ham grabbed at my breasts and massaged them, running his thumbs over my buds. I rested my head into the nook of his neck, sweat dripping down my face. 

“You tiring out on me?” Hancock growled into my ear.   
“Never,” I replied, arching my back to him.   
“Good,” he slapped my ass. 

As Hancock picked up the pace I knew I wasn’t going to last. I threw my head back, moaning to him. He brought his face back to me and made some almost feral like noises in response. We came together as I nearly bounced off of him.   
“Fuck Sunshine,” Hancock breathed into my neck. 

I only replied by patting his bald head. Ham slide from under me and brought us some somewhat clean cloths to wipe ourselves off. I sat on the couch, naked and sweaty. I grabbed the bottle of whiskey and poured myself a double shot. Hancock took a long hit of jet, passing it to me. I finished off the inhaler, my blood pressure dropping. I could feel myself relax past what should have been possible. I couldn’t tell if I breathing anymore and the room was beginning to spin. I wobbled over to my clothes, sliding my shirt and pants back on before heading back to the couch. Ham was already leaving and Hancock just put pants on. 

“Sunshine, come sit down. You don’t look too good,” He stated.   
“Well I feel fine,” I tried to say, but I’m not sure that’s what came out of my mouth. 

I fell forward, tripping on my feet. Hancock couldn’t get to me fast enough to stop me from hitting the ground face first. Blood was on the wood and dripping down my face. My nose should have felt broken, but I couldn’t feel my face. I put a hand in front of me as Hancock pulled me up into a sitting position. I couldn’t make out the digits of my fingers. If I had my pipboy on me, it would be blaring alerts for sure. 

“Hey Sunshine, stay awake. Stay with me,” Hancock called out for Fahrenheit. 

Her red hair was a blur in the air, then I felt the jab of a needle. It wasn’t the standard prick, but just some pressure. I could tell I was swaying because the room was moving. 

“Jesus Hancock, why did you ever give her jet. Not everyone has your tolerance,” I could hear her voice.   
“It’s my fault,” I tried to say.   
“See, she’s fucked up real bad. We need to get a doctor,” She continued.   
“I know! I always fuck up good things in my life,” He replied.   
“Oh shit,” is all I heard from both of them before I hit the floor again and everything was blurred. I could make out the two blurs that were Hancock and Fahrenheit. Another dark blur came into the room, surrounded by tan blurs with what I could only assume was guns.   
“Olivia!”   
…

I woke up in a bright white room, the lights above me producing heat. I glanced at my side where I saw X6 facing the door of the infirmary, his hand resting on leg. I looked to my other side, Hancock was resting in an armchair. The memories of last night coming back to me.

A twitch in my leg sent X6 spiraling toward me, “Olivia.”   
“I’m sorry,” I said, not needing to hear him tell me how big of a mistake I made.   
“Hey Sunshine, glad you’re up. Now someone will talk to me and not just run in fear or ignore me,” Hancock pushed his hat back and put a hand on my shoulder, “You had us worried there.”   
“I know, I’m so sorry,” I replied.   
“It’s okay-”   
“No, it’s not,” X6 cut off Hancock, “If you had died the Institue would be in chaos.”   
“They don’t really need me X6, most of them don’t even like me,” I countered.   
“I need you,” he said calmly.   
“I’m going to give you two a minute,” Hancock said, strolling out of the room.   
“I can’t believe you brought Hancock here,” I stated.   
“He refused to let go of you and I knew you would be mad if I eliminated him,” He replied. “Olivia, I...I’m not good with words. I need you to know that I need you alive, and not just for the best interests of the Institute,” He was frowning.   
I brought my hand to his face, “I’m sorry X6, I promise you I wasn’t trying to kill myself.”   
“What else were you expecting to happen, taking all that jet?” X6 countered.   
“I got a taste for jet long before we met,” I explained, “Recently I haven’t been sneaking any, but I missed it. I just wanted some time to forget about the world and not have to feel.”   
“Is it just because of Shaun, or…?” He implied the rest.   
“Hell no X6, this isn’t because of you. You haven’t done anything wrong. I just needed to escape from what had happened to Shaun,” I continued, “I don’t know what we are, but I like it.”   
“I would like it more if you would turn to me for your escapes. You don’t have to run to your ghoul for that kind of attention,” he pulled away from me. Was that jealousy?   
“Are you feeling jealousy, X6?” I questioned.   
“I don’t know what that feels like, but I want you to come to me with your problems. I want to be the person to help you through them. I know I’m not the best with words, but I can be there whenever you need me,” he answered.   
“Do...do you want to be exclusive?” I asked.   
“Shit, I think I do,” he admitted.   
“Oh,” I felt the pressure fall on me.   
“If you need time away from me to figure this out, that’s okay,” X6 offered.   
“I don’t want you away from me X6,” I said.   
“I don’t want to ask you to be tied to a synth like me,” He looked down at himself.   
I brought his face up to mine with a hand, “Hey, stop that. I love you, synth or not.”   
“You love me?” He breathed, “Like how you love-”   
“No. It’s different,” I cut him off, “I don’t know what it is, but it’s different,” I lied to the both of us. I knew what it was, I was just scared. I knew this whole time and I was just running from it.   
“What do you think it could be?” X6 asked me.   
“I think...I think I’m falling in love with you,” I admitted.   
“In love?” He clearly didn’t understand the difference.   
“It’s something deeper than just love,” I tried to explain.   
“Oh. What do you want to do about it?” He asked.   
“I don’t know, do you feel the same way?” I questioned.   
“I don’t know emotions well yet, but I know I’m happy when I’m with you. When I look at you it makes me feel like I just landed a hit on the target. Shit, I know that’s not romantic,” He rubbed his head and looked down.   
“No, X6,” I brought his head back up to me and slid off his shades, “I understand you. Go ahead and explain things in the way you understand it.”   
His eyes locked onto mine for a moment before he continued, “I feel like everyday with you is a battle won.” 

Before I could reply, his lips were on mine. X6 pulled me into the kiss with a hand cradling my head. I leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He moved his hands to my waist, forcing my upper body into his. He was all passion and raw emotion. It was a side of him that I hadn’t seen before. 

I could hear Hancock enter the room, whistling at the sight of us in our embrace, “Didn’t know you had it in you.”   
X6 broke from the kiss with a scowl, “I think it’s time you left.”   
“I hear you, I was planning to once Sunshine woke up,” Hancock put his hands in the air.   
“Thank you for everything Hancock,” I smiled at him.   
“Thank me? I nearly got you killed,” he replied.   
“Yes, he almost did,” X6 stated.  
“I did that to myself guys. I’m an adult here, I can make my own stupid choices,” I defended.   
“Very stupid,” Hancock grinned, “Rewarding though huh?”   
I could see every muscle in X6’s body tense up, “For you maybe.”   
“I’ll see you later Hancock,” I waved to him as he headed out, flipping his knife in his hand.   
“I won’t understand why you would lower yourself to someone like him,” X6 commented.   
“What, a ghoul?” I questioned.   
“No, a drug addict,” he replied.   
“We all have faults X6,” I put my hand on his arm.   
“You have less than most,” he said.   
“Ha, thanks for the laugh,” I replied, “I have more faults than most.” 

X6 pulled me back in for another kiss. 

…

“And then I put this here,” Shaun took a toaster part and put it in a weapon he was making, “and now it works!” He handed me the pistol.   
“Want me to try it out?” I asked him.   
“Yes please,” he replied, excited. 

I made my way to the firing range, X6 watching while leaning on the wall beside us. I aimed at the wall and pulled the trigger, unleashing a fat laser round. It was short and about three times the size of a normal laser pistol. 

“Wow Shaun, this is great. Do you want me to test it out on some bad guys?” I rubbed his head.   
“That would be so cool! Could you bring me some more things to take apart?” He smiled up at me with hope in his eyes.   
“Of course son, I’ll be headed out soon and I’ll be back with plenty of things for you to tinker with,” I assured him.   
“Will X6 make sure you come back?” He questioned.   
“Of course he will,” I snickered at X6. Shaun seemed fond of the man. 

We made our way to the teleporter, Shaun seeing us off. We were headed to the Railroad. I needed to draft up an order to halt synth production and I felt that they would be the best people to consult. X6 didn’t like the idea of me shutting down production, but he didn’t argue with me about it. Maybe he knew there was going to be no changing my mind. 

We came to HQ on the direct path, not wanting to spend bullets getting past the ghouls that keep collecting themselves in the church. I was sure to be the first face everyone saw, knowing that they would shoot a courser on site. I announced my guest to the entire team. They were not happy. 

“So it seems these latest reports are true,” Desdemona said, making her way around the round table.   
“Yes, which is why I’ve come to you,” I replied.   
“Come to pick us off with that courser of yours?” Dez asked.   
“Woah, of course not. I came because I need your input on how to word my ruling on ending the production of the synth,” I defended.   
“You’re going to end it?” Deacon popped up from the other side of the room.   
“That would mean we could disband,” Dr. Carrington added.   
“Yes, that’s the other reason I’m here,” I started, “Once I end the production, we’re going to have to handle the remaining ones. I want to give them the option of staying with the Institute or getting a new shot at life, with you being the shooter.”   
“So what are you proposing?” Dez questioned.   
“I want the Railroad to ally themselves with the Institute and work to rehome the synths that want it, and to remain a part of the Institute thereafter in a new ethics department,” I finished.   
“Ally ourselves with the enemy?” Glory spat.   
“Am I an enemy of yours?” I asked.   
“Well, of course not,” she replied.   
“And for all sake and purpose, I am now the Institute. Therefore, the Institute is no longer your enemy,” I explained.   
“We will consider your offer and vote on the matter, until then let's work on that proposal of yours,” Dez replied. 

.... 

“Olivia,” Carrington got my attention away from my bowl of squirrel stew, “a word.”   
“Sure thing,” X6 and I both stood up.   
“Privately,” he added.   
“It’s okay X6, nothing to worry about here,” I called X6 off. We made our way to the back hall, out of site from everyone, “What is it Stanely?”   
“Are you serious about what you said you want to do?” He asked.   
“Of course, I want nothing more than to bring everyone together,” I said.   
Carrington put a hand out to my face, gently stroking my cheek with his thumb, “Then you shall have my vote.”   
“Thanks Stanley,” I didn’t stop his hand.   
“I missed you,” he moved to kiss me, but I pulled away.   
“I’m sorry, I’m just not comfortable at the moment with where this was leading,” I looked to the ground.   
“I understand, no sex. A kiss wouldn’t hurt, would it?” He smiled at me, grabbing my hand.   
“It could. I’m sorry, I’ve had a lot going on recently and I’m still clearing my head from all the addictol,” I began to ramble.   
“Addictol? What were you hooked on?” He frowned at me.  
“Jet, unfortunately. Had been for a while, I was just really good at sneaking it,” I admitted, “but my bigger problem is that I have a mess of emotions going on in my head right now so I don’t want to add anything to that.”   
“I understand. I won’t say I’m not disappointed, especially knowing it’s that courser that has you messed up,” he brought his eyes to mine.   
“How did you-”   
He put a finger to my mouth, “I could see the way you looked at him. It’s clear as rain and now you just admitted it.”  
“I guess I just did huh?” I let my shoulder fall.   
“You don’t owe me an explanation or an apology Olivia, I just want you to be happy. I’ll miss our tumbles, but we never spoke about being serious. I don’t think I’d be able to pull anyone else as attractive as you again though,” he laughed.   
“Well Dez is single right?” I asked.   
“True, but I don’t think she’s looking for anyone,” he sighed, “If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.” 

X6-88 eyed me suspiciously as I walked over to him. He didn’t ask me anything, but shifted himself to allow room for me to sit beside him. I watched as Glory made her way over, eyeing X6. 

“So Charmer, when were you going to let us know about your pet courser?” She kept her eyes on him.   
“He’s his own man, he just happens to like following me around,” I replied.   
“That’s not entirely true, you just happen to always be moving,” He kept his attention on Glory.   
“Well either way, I don’t like him being here,” she finally looked at me, “or being around you for that matter.”   
“I didn’t take you for the jealous type Glory, if you wanted to be the one following me around you could have said so between moans,” I teased her.   
“That’s not, ugh. Fine, whatever. Just don’t get yourself killed by him,” She threw her hands up dramatically.   
“G7-81?” X6 questioned.   
“How the hell do you know that?!” Glory bolted toward X6, who was now standing.   
“There were reports of a runaway that stayed with the Railroad,” he calmly said as she pulled out a combat knife.   
“Hey woah there,” I jumped between them, “No need to fight. We can live and let live, right?”   
“That’s not how it works Charmer,” She spat on the ground near X6, “He knows what the fuck he just did.”   
“Well things got heated, no need to fight,” I put a hand on Glory’s shoulder, “Come on, for me?”   
“Fine, for you. Keep your dog in line,” She walked away.   
“So, that’s two people here you were involved with,” he stated calmly.   
“I assumed you would have figured it out, but yeah. Just the two, although I know Drummer boy over there is always looking at my ass,” I whispered in his ear.   
“That’s why I walk behind you,” X6 replied.   
“Here I thought you liked me for my vibrant personality,” I put a hand on my hip.   
“The ass is nice too,” he smirked at me.   
“Wow, you got a courser to show emotion,” Tinker Tom came close to X6 with his magnifying hat on.   
“They’re people too Tom,” I shook my head.   
“How’d you do it? Magnetize his coffee? Implant while he slept? Did you-”   
“No Tom, I was just myself,” I cut him off.   
“Could you give a blood sample?” Tom asked.   
“NO TOM,” Carrington’s voice yelled out.   
“Worth a shot,” Tom made his way back to his terminal.   
“Everyone, gather round. It’s time to vote.” Desdemona announced.


	63. A New Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time for a change. The Institute is fully under its new leadership  
Enjoy the feel-good vibes of X6 being more and more human in Olivia's presence.

X6 and I were back at the Institute, preparing for my speech to the scientists and synths. I felt nervous, the butterflies in my stomach threatening to spill out. I was dressed in a new tight off-white Institute suit with Shaun’s lab coat over it. I kept my lucky 9mm hidden on my side, just in case some people got too mad at my decision. X6 prepared several coursers to work as crowd control on that off chance. I had showered that morning and done my hair the best I could. I even put on some makeup, just to keep up appearances. X6 had a hard time keeping his hands off me, enjoying the new look. 

I made my way down the stairs, not running into anyone because they were already gathered at the courtyard. I wasn’t sure if there had ever been an address before that required everyone to be there, the Institute tended to make all the decisions in board meetings. I needed everyone to hear this straight from my mouth.  
All eyes were on me as I strolled to the front of the crowd. X6 took his position behind me on my right side. Another courser, the first one to greet me here, was to my left. I ordered both of them beforehand to keep their weapons holstered to minimize any intimidating appearances. It was time for the speech. 

I cleared my throat, “Good afternoon everyone. You’re probably wondering why I gathered everyone here at the same time. The answer is simple, I needed everyone to hear this at the same time, straight from me,” I shifted my weight on my feet, “From this moment forward, I decree that synth production will halt.” 

The crowd burst into mixed opinions of people that agreed, disagreed, and were shell shocked. All the coursers stiffened, ready to pull out their rifles. Even X6 placed a hand on his weapon. 

“Please, everyone, there is more to say,” I got most of the crowd to quiet down, “All synths living in the Institute will be known as free-thinking, independent persons with free will. As such, they will be given a choice to stay working here in new roles or to start over above ground. I have enlisted the help of our new allies, the Railroad and the Minutemen. The Railroad will work to rehome any synth that wants a new life with new memories and a new identity.” 

“That’s outrageous!” Ayo yelled from the front row. 

I ignored his outburst and the mummers it created, “The Minutemen will work mostly above ground, sharing resources with us. They will assist in any above ground missions in exchange for some of our readily available, replenishable resources. This will mainly be in the form of food. Therefore, the current rooms dedicated to synth production will be converted into expanded bioscience labs.” 

There was a cheer from Clayton. 

I swallowed hard at the angry faces scattered throughout the crowd, “The current synth retention bureau will serve as an internal police force, keeping law and order. This will be organized under the direction of X6-88. Any coursers wishing to stay at the Institute will require additional training to make this a smooth process. In addition, anyone wanting to take up a job as a police officer is welcome to be trained.” 

There were less angry faces now, but more unsure ones. 

“Finally,” I cleared my throat again, “I will be reopening the FEV lab and bringing back the scientist Brian Virgil to continue his important research. He will need help reestablishing the lab. Now if anyone has any questions for me, I ask that you type them out so I can address them individually in an ordered fashion. There is a file installed on all terminals so you can easily ask a question at any time of the day. I thank you all for gathering her today and listening to me. You are all dismissed.”  
The synths in the crowd look disarrayed, understandably. 

“You did a good job ma’am,” X6 said to me as we strolled back to my quarters.  
“Thanks X6, I was so nervous,” I could feel myself shaking.  
“You couldn’t tell,” he placed a small, quick kiss on my forehead.  
“I’m glad,” I replied.  
“So what now?” X6 asked.  
“Now I answer the onslaught of questions I’m about to get for the next few days as we wait on the synths to decide what they want to do. I’m sure plenty want to leave and not be reminded of their slavery,” I answered, “Speaking of which, that order applies to you too. If you ever decide you want to le-”  
“No,” he cut me off, “My place is at your side for as long as you’ll have me.”  
“Forever then?” I smiled at him.  
“Forever it is,” he smiled back. 

I had decided, X6 would be who I settled down with. There is no one I trusted more, no one I let my guard around more. There are several people that are going to be disappointed, but this was my choice to make. X6 was my unlikely lover and I plan on keeping him for myself. 

“I have several people I’ll have to break the news to,” I sighed.  
“I can do it you want,” a devilish smile crossed his face.  
“No, no. It’s my job,” I pushed his arm.  
“Speaking of jobs…” X6 looked ahead of us toward my room, an angry Ayo stood by the door.  
“How dare you!” He stuck a finger out at me while we approached.  
“Watch those hands doctor,” X6 warned.  
“And you, where do you get off-”  
“All over me,” I laughed, unsure if Ayo understood.  
“Disgusting,” he understood, “How dare you make those decisions without the approval of the board. This is not what Father would have wanted.”  
“Shaun understood that I was free to make my own choices, this is one of them,” I spat back at him.  
“He would have never left the Institute in your hands if he knew-”  
“You can message me your complaints like everyone else Ayo,” I gave him a classic mother tone.  
“Oh I will. I will be doing more than that,” he stated.  
“Is that a threat?” X6 grabbed his rifle.  
“Of course not,” he replied, eyeing me as he left.  
“Shit. That’s going to be a problem,” X6 said.  
“He’s all talk,” I assured him.  
“Still,” he placed a kiss on top of my head, “can’t take any chances. I’ll arrange a watch on him.”  
“Thanks,” I rested my head on his arm, “shall we?”  
“We shall,” he swept me up bridal style, bringing me straight to the bed, kicking the door shut with his foot. 

I laughed as he placed me on the bed, jumping on top of me and kissing my neck. His hands met my sides, rubbing the length of my body. 

“I’ve been wanting to do this since you put on that makeup,” he slipped a hand to the zipper of my suit.  
“Oh really? Should I wear it more often?” I questioned.  
“Shit, yes,” He thrust his erection into my leg.  
“Such a dirty mouth,” I tisked.  
“I’m about to make it dirtier,” in one motion he pulled my zipper all the way down.  
I gasped, “Sir, how bold of you.”  
“Call me sir again,” he pulled his glasses off and tossed them on the floor, his eyes hungry.  
“Sir,” I uttered. 

Something inside of him snapped as he was pulling my clothes off of me while nipping at my neck. I mewled as I felt the cold air hitting my body. X6 kept me warm, pressing his body against mine. He trailed his lips down my body to between my legs, making quick work of my underwear. I kept my hands on his head while he worked. 

It wasn’t long before he had me undone. I curled up under his arm, my head on his chest and the sheets pulled up to my neck. X6 looked over at me, smiling. Since he started smiling not too long ago, he had a hard time stopping when he looked at me. I felt warm under his gaze, drifting off into sleep. 

…

“Ugh,” I sighed, answering the numerous messages of concern sent to my terminal.  
“Having regrets?” X6 came up behind me, rubbing my shoulders.  
“No,” I rolled my neck.  
“Need a break?” He asked.  
“Mhm, not yet,” I smiled. 

I haven’t been this happy since leaving the vault. I felt the kind of happiness with X6 that I did with Nate. It was a close bond we managed to form in a very short period of time. Hopefully nothing would come between it. I worry about how Nick and Yefim are going to take the news. Yefim will be heartbroken, but I tried to warn him about it. Nick, well Nick is Nick, and knowing him he won’t give up. 

“Do you want to get married?” X6 asked me, bringing me back from my thoughts.  
“What?” I asked.  
“Do you want to remarry?” He repeated.  
“I- I don’t know,” I stuttered, “maybe.”  
“Okay,” he planted a kiss on my cheek.  
“Wait, why?” I questioned.  
“Just checking,” he wandered off. 

I worked on answering questions until late in the night, when I finally decided to call it quits. X6 hadn’t come back yet from speaking with the coursers that decided to stay. I hoped I made the right call doing all of this. It would have been easier to just transport everyone out and blow the place up. I couldn’t bring myself to doing that though, not when everything reminded me of Shaun. 

I leaned back in my chair, looking around the room. My room, no longer Shaun’s. I could still picture him in his bed, looking at me with those calm eyes. Damn he was so much like his father, always calm in the face of something scary. I raked my hands down my face, pulling the skin down and moving it in circular motions. This life was not going to be easy, but at least I won’t be alone. I smiled thinking of the man who was head over heels for me, the same man that a few months ago didn’t know what love was. 

I got up and made my way to the shower. The hot water steamed up the room and mirrors. I took a step in, closing the rounded door behind me. All I wanted in the moment was to just let the water flow over me forever. My skin brightened under the heat. I heard the door to my room shut, X6 was back, I grinned, moving to start washing my hair. 

I could hear his footsteps as he approached the bathroom. His blurry figure visible through the glass door. He was removing his clothes, turning to lock the bathroom door behind him. I had just finished with my hair and was moving to my body when the glass door was opened, X6 standing in all his naked glory. 

X6 slid in behind me, closing the door. His body brushed against mine. It was a tight fit for both of us to be here at the same time, but I wasn’t complaining. He brought his hands on my shoulders, running down my back. I leaned into his touch. His hands found their way to my lumbar, massaging the tense area. I mewled softly and pushed my head onto his chest. He leaned down slightly, placing a small kiss on my ear. 

“I don’t deserve you,” I said to him.  
“You think you don’t deserve anything,” X6 sighed, “When will you learn life is not about what you do and don’t ‘deserve?’”  
“Never I guess,” I rolled around to face him, water running down my back.  
“Well, shit,” he smiled, rubbing his hands down my back.  
“You’re too much,” I laughed at him.  
“No, you really are,” he chuckled back. 

We made our way out of the shower and onto my king sized bed. X6 helped me detangle my hair. I curled myself under his arm and listened to his heart beat. X6 absentmindedly stroked my back. This was what I really needed, a healthy escape. Like this I couldn’t help but feel relaxed. I slept hard that night, the grogginess of the addictol fading away.


	64. Shaun's Trauma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your childhood in the wastes isn't complete without a little trauma.

It had been a crazy time trying to switch everyone from the old way of the Institute to my new plan. Most of the synths decided to stay and were being educated to start their roles as researchers, developers, and police officers. All of the coursers stayed, not wanting to “betray” me. Their sense of loyalty was incredible. X6 had been doing a great job training them and the new recruits. The Railroad had successfully replaced all the synths that wanted a new start on life, most of them opting to keep their memories. A new wing of the Institute was under construction to give home to the new ethics branch. The FEV lab was up and functionable with Brian happily returned. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, too smoothly. It made me kinda anxious about what may go wrong. 

It had been a month of underground work and now it was time for me to pay a visit to Sanctuary, the Castle, and possibly Diamond city. Shaun would come with me this time since I promised him a trip above ground. X6 had packed our bags for a few days worth of travel. He had proven to be a very tender man over the course of this month. Always attentive thanks to that high perception of his. Every night was bliss, ending with me curled up under his arms. 

Shaun was raring to go, a big empty bag over his shoulders to collect any junk we found. Thankfully there was enough supplies for the both of us in my pack. X6 led us to the transporter. First stop, the Castle. 

… 

“Well hello there General,” I said as we approached Preston, who was clad in my former outfit.  
“Olivia!” Preston was surprised and ran over to give me a hug.  
“How’s the role suiting you?” I asked.  
“Just fine. It took a while to settle in, but I think I’m going to like this,” he answered.  
“I told you. You’re doing a great job,” I assured him.  
“Thanks Olivia,” He put a hand on my shoulder, “And how’s this big guy doing?” Preston crotched down to Shaun’s level and gave him a high five.  
“I’m having fun!” He replied, looking around the Castle with big eyes.  
“I knew he would,” I smiled, “So, how are the men handling the new partnership?”  
“Well, a few people left. They weren’t happy siding with the boogeymen,” Preston started, “But those that stayed seem to be optimistic about it.”  
“That’s the best I could hope for,” I sighed, “this is even more work than I thought it’d be.”  
“I’m here if you need a shoulder,” Preston offered.  
“Thanks Preston,” I put a hand on his shoulder, “now let’s get some food and catch up!” 

We all sat together at the round table in the main room. Preston was happy to tell me of the new fortifications on the castle. They managed to have artillery now on each corner of the walls. He was sure to give me a few artillery signalling grenades to test out their defenses while I was here. X6 gave him some suggestions for new training for the men. It was a pleasant conversation over lunch. Was. 

Artillery went off in the distance, the cannon fire hitting the ground with tremendous force. A watchman yelled raiders and a squad was running out on the field. Settlers armed themselves and made for the safety of the walls. Everyone was on alert. X6 and I ushered Shaun under the table and made for the front lines. 

This was no ordinary raider attack, this mob of people that seemed rather organized. We still outnumbered them though. The cannon fire ceases as the first wave made it through the front of the wall. The soldiers formed a line and fired in unison, taking out several of them. 

X6 and I took potshots at the raiders, as several of them broke through the frontline. Quickly the second and third lines made their way into the Castle. A few men slipped from the main battle into the walls where I could hear settlers yelling. With a glance to X6, we ran back toward where we left Shaun. The sight before me was horrific. 

Shaun was covered in blood, his face splattered a deep red. His shirt was ruined, absolutely soaked. There were burn marks on his cheeks and ash on his forehead. In front of him laid the charred remains of what was a raider. The dirt floor blackened. Shaun’s eyes were wide and there were tears pressing forward. His knuckles white from his grip on his junk pistol. 

“Shaun!” I called to him, running and shoving his face into my chest, “What happened sweetie?”  
X6 took watch at the door, “It looks like he took out a raider.”  
“Clearly,” I sighed, “Are you okay Shaun?” I reached my hand to wipe his cheek, looking him up  
and down for injuries like the worried mother I was. Shaun kept quiet. “Okay sweetie, I know this is tough right now. Momma needs you to go into that big cabinet and close the door. Myself, X6, or Preston will come get you when this is over. I need you to stay quiet for me. It’ll be over soon.” There was an explosion that went off in the courtyard and Shaun didn’t even flinch at the sound or the dust that forced its way into the room.  
“Can you do that Shaun?” X6 asked him, his face set. 

Shaun responded only by going into the cabinet and closing the doors behind him. I had made a mistake thinking that he would be fine just being under the table. I felt terrible because if I had just thought for another minute I would have come up with the cabinet idea and Shaun wouldn’t be petrified right now. God, do I have some cleaning up to do. 

“We need to head back out,” X6 looked out to the field.  
“Yeah, let’s get this over with,” I got up from my crotched position and met him at the doorway. 

It was clear that we were winning, but it wasn’t clean. There were holes in the ground from grenades, bodies littered the blood stained grass. Preston was shouting commands to the troops, proving that good leadership can win a fight. I had a hard time focusing on were everyone on the field was at given the amount of dirt stirred up, but everything came together real quick when X6 shouted at me and a painful smack to the legs sent me crashing to the ground. 

A raider stood up above me with a bat and aimed to hit me again while I was on the ground, but X6 took her out with a few shots to the midriff. Her dirty blond faux hawk a blur as her body crumbled next to mine. X6 helped me to my feet with one big pull of a hand. I was limping, but I could still fight the good fight. 

The battle lasted about half an hour longer before all the raiders were either wiped out or had ran away. X6, as if by magic, was perfectly unscathed throughout the fight. I, on the other hand, had major swelling and bruising on the back of my calves. Shaun was free of any physical damage aside from some slight burning on the face, but had a plethora of emotional damage in his head. He wouldn’t speak, only shaking his head yes or no. Not even X6 could get him to talk. I tried not to push him, knowing he would need to process this in his own way. Thankfully there are a couple people I knew who would be able to provide some physiological aid. 

Even though there were still tasks above ground to handle, I transported us back to the Institute. Helping Shaun became my number one priority now, just as he would have if he were the son I gave birth to. I had him checked out by our top physician since I knew I would be too biased as his mother to treat him. I arranged several visits with the psychologist on staff in the following week. X6 accompanied me back to my room. Shaun was sprawled out on my big bed. He was sleeping hard, having cried himself to sleep on my lap. 

I kept stroking his hair as I talked to X6, “I shouldn’t have taken him up yet. It could have waited until he’s older.”  
“He would have to get used to this eventually, now it’s just sooner. Probably better this way,” he replied.  
“No, now his innocence is gone,” I sighed, “Couldn’t you see it in his eyes?”  
“I can honestly say no,” X6 stated, “but I’ll defer to your judgement.”  
“I don’t know what else I can do to fix this. What should I do? He may be too scared to go back topside. Hell, I don’t know how I’m supposed to just leave him now to go and do my job,” I ran a hand through my locks.  
“I could go up for you,” X6 offered.  
“No honey, I don’t think you have the disposition for my role,” I laughed.  
“Well, shit. What do you want to do?” He asked me.  
“I guess we can just go to bed and figure it out in the morning. Hopefully Shaun will be talking by then.” 

…

Shaun spoke little, even after his visits to the doctors. I was spending every second I could of the past week with him. He had little interests in anything, even tinkering with his junk and guns. I guess seeing one in action turned him off from it. 

We were sitting on my bed in silence. Shaun was curled up into my lap like he was every night. X6 brought me some hot coffee, knowing that I would want to be up all night in case Shaun woke up crying and screaming again. I didn’t get much sleep now, just resting for a few hours at a time here and there, mostly when Shaun was at his appointments. X6 was especially supportive of me during this time. He brought me food and drinks without my asking, making sure I was staying fed and hydrated. I know I wouldn’t be if he wasn’t looking out for me. 

There was little time for work this week, but that had to come to an end. There were people I needed to speak with and places I needed to be at. I didn’t dare bring Shaun back up now, but I couldn’t just leave him. I had to find a way to get Shaun to tell me what he wants to do. 

“Shaun?” I asked him, my lips close to my mug. He looked up at me but said nothing, “I need to go back to the surface honey, but I need to know if you’ll be okay without me or if you need to come along.”  
“I-I don’t want to go back up,” Shaun said slowly.  
“That’s okay, I won’t make you,” I stroked his hair, “Are you going to be okay without me for a few days?” He shrugged. I looked to X6 with a frown.  
“Maybe I could assign someone to stay with him?” He offered.  
“Maybe just ask someone to keep an eye out for him? I really don’t want to leave him alone.” I ran a hand through my hair, “What should I do here Shaun?” No response. “Okay,” I sighed. 

We stayed in that silence until Shaun drifted off to sleep. X6 made me get up from the bed and shower. He was in the shower with me, holding me as I cried. I wanted to protect Shaun from this life, but I couldn’t. What kind of mother was I? 

“We can have his memories wiped,” X6 said to me as he dried my hair.  
“I don’t think I can do that. Is it ethical for me to do that?” I questioned.  
“Since he’s a synth it won’t hurt him,” he replied.  
“That didn’t answer my question,” I sighed.  
“I’m sorry Olivia, I don’t have an answer to that for you,” he placed a kiss on my forehead.  
“Maybe I’ll see how he is when I get back and make a decision then,” I thought out loud.  
“That sounds like the most reasonable course of action,” X6 stated.  
“Well, I guess it’s settled then. I’m going to ask Virgil to keep an eye on him for me. Maybe helping out in his lab will bring him around,” I explained.  
“I’m sure Brian will do anything you asked him to,” X6 eyed me. 

It wasn’t common knowledge yet that X6 and I were an item. Brian wasn’t aware of it, but I was sure to break off what we had when he got back here. Virgil still held on to some hope that I would change my mind, against my best efforts not to leave him on the hook. X6 wasn’t happy with his presence back at the Institute. I had come clean to him about my sexual encounters with Virgil in both of the forms that I knew him. In fact, X6 knew now about each and every sexual encounter I’ve had since leaving the Vault. He had nearly lept out of the chair to beat the shit out of some raiders when I told him about the Combat Zone, before I mentioned that the main offender was already dead. 

I slipped back into the bed with Shaun, X6 managing to fit on the bed beside me too. In the morning I would return topside, but for tonight we were a misfit family.


	65. Broken Bonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Olivia has a lot of ties to break, she's also pretty reckless.

I sighed, laying my bag on the floor of Home Plate. It had been a rough day since I had to leave Shaun alone. I wanted to drag him with me to know he’d be in my sight, but I knew that would just make it worse. I climbed up the stairs to my nightstand, taking out a Nuka cola quantum I stashed there. 

“Anything I can do?” X6 asked me as I came back down the stairs.   
I threw myself into the couch I had Myrna put in, “I don’t think so. I’m just stressed out, I’ll be okay.”   
“Well I can help with the tension,” he moved his arms behind my shoulders and began to massage me. 

I leaned into him and let my body relax into the jelly he was pawing it into. I really didn’t deserve him. I looked around the room at the various objects laid about. At my workstation was a pipe pistol I never finished modding. A few dusty paintings from the previous owners were strung up on the walls. A painting I did myself during some downtime at the Institute was above my bed. Dogmeat’s bed was in the corner next to the workstation. I left Dogmeat in the care of Shaun to help him with the obvious depression he was suffering. Virgil did agree to have Shaun help in the FEV lab and for that, I am very grateful. 

The FEV lab is not like it once was. No, Virgil left because he couldn’t take what was happening there. I gave him full authority to change the nature of research in the FEV lab with the help of our ethics department. Hopefully he will make some more serum and we can change people back to their old selves. Either way, he seemed happy to be back. Madison was especially happy to see him alive and well. 

I finished my bottle of Nuka cola and laid back all the way into X6’s arms. I closed my eyes and the image of a heartbroken Nick flashed into view. I had given him my answer to his proposal, a no. If he could cry, he would have then and I could see it all over his face. The yellow light behind his eyes dimmed and his frown was tight. Nick had thrown himself onto the ground at me and I took no pleasure in seeing him beg. I took even less pleasure in leaving him like that. I felt like it was all my fault, even though I made the terms of our relationship clear when we restarted it. I guess he still carried the same feelings he had for me back then, but mine were gone now. Vanished at the skillful hands of the man at my back. 

I sighed again and pushed myself into him more, earning a small grunt. How was I going to break the news to Yefim? I still loved him and, truthfully, he would have been who I settled with if I never met X6. Part of me was so overwhelmed at the thought of breaking his heart that I wanted to just not tell him and avoid the inn forever. He would think me dead though and that would be worse to him than not being with me. Maybe I could catch Vadim first and ask for his help in making it gentle? 

“I told you I can tell him,” X6 calmly stated as he pressed his thumbs into my shoulder blades.  
“And I remember saying no. I am the one who got myself all tangled up in other people’s lives, so I need to be the one to break those bonds,” I countered.   
“Do you think he’s going to just lay down and accept defeat?” X6 questioned.   
“Well, I don’t expect him to try to attack you if that’s what you’re getting at,” I replied.   
“Partly, but what I mean is more like with Nick. Will he just accept your dismissal or will he beg? Will he refuse you and hurt you? I don’t have a good read on the type of man he is,” worry could be heard in his tone.   
“I know what kind of man he is X6. I know he would sooner fall on his own blade than hurt me. I expect him not to accept it, but to respect it,” I explained.   
“I’ll defer to your judgment,” he responded.   
“I’ll tell him after breakfast,” I said, standing up and beginning to climb up the stairs. 

X6 followed behind me, having double-checked the lock on the door. He climbed into bed on top of me and placed kisses all over my face and chest. I drowned in the attention, finding sleep quickly. My dreams were rather still that night, avoiding topics of Shaun or my now former lovers. 

…

“Are you sure plamya?” Yefim spoke the words softly. He was in his khaki-colored suit, “Is this what you want?”   
“Yes Yefim,” I glanced away from where his hands held mine, “I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you but I couldn’t leave you on the hook.”   
“I understand,” he put a hand up threw my hair, getting his fingers tangled up awkwardly.   
I laughed as he freed himself, “I would like if we could still be close friends.”   
“Of course, I could never live a life where I wasn’t close to you,” he kissed my forehead.   
“You make this really hard you know?” I smiled at him with a few tears streaming down my face, “no arguing, screaming, not even a threat. Just good ol’ Yefim.”   
“How could I be anyone other than myself?” He questioned with a slight tilt in his head.   
“I do it all the time. Lot’s of hats to wear. I don’t recommend it,” I kissed his forehead in return.   
“I will still see you come to the bar?” Yefim had a hopeful glimmer in his eye.   
“Of course. You and Vadim will always see me when I pass threw, maybe a little more than that now that I have Home Plate,” I assured him.   
“Good,” he smiled at me against a tear that rolled down his cheek. 

He walked me out of his room in the back and toward X6. Vadim, for once, wasn’t smiling. Yefim walked with me right up until I was a few feet from X6 before breaking away and taking a seat at the bar. I turned my head as we left, seeing him reach for a bottle of Bobrovs Best. 

… 

We decided to hoof it to Sanctuary this time around. I was getting too soft from my new role behind a desk. I needed to stretch my legs real good and hard, maybe run into some raiders to kill. Hated to think it, but I need to my killing instincts sharp. My world is more dangerous now than ever. 

Just as expected, it wasn’t long before we ran into trouble. We were on the outskirts of the city when we ran into a small gang of supermutants. Just four of them. One was asleep against the side of a ruined building. A sniper with a hunting rifle was walking around the upper level of that building and the other two were talking to each other on the road. 

“I can take out the one on the roof if you get the sleeping one,” X6 crotched behind a broken wall with me.   
“Sounds like a plan,” I smiled at him, just realizing that I’ve missed gunfights.  
“On my count?” He asked.   
“Yes sir,” I winked.   
“Three, two…” 

X6 lept over the wall and let it rain on the sniper. The mutant barely had time to get one shot out before he was down for the count. I missed my target at first, out of practice, giving him time to wake up and scramble to his feet. This wouldn’t be good. I fired on the mutant that ran toward me with such determination. His super sledge was bigger than me. 

“Olivia!” X6 called out and fired on the charging mutant. I got a round off right into its face, sending him crumbling to the ground.   
“Sorry!” I yelled back to him, turning my attention to a beeping sound. 

It was coming toward me, getting louder. The red glow of a nuke shown from under the arm of a supermutant rushing toward me. He looked like the star quarterback rushing in for a touchdown. I knew I couldn’t outrun him and that this may be the end for me. My only choice was a quick, well-placed shot. 

I pulled my 9mm out and looked down its modded scope. I lined it up with the super mutants head and fired, then ducked behind the wall in case the bomb detonated. Thankfully it did not. Not thankfully, as I moved around from the wall there was a super mutant on top of me. It brought its nail board up and just as he came down there was gunfire and he toppled over. I barely rolled out of the way in time from being squashed. 

X6 ran toward me and lent me a hand up, “You are out of practice.”   
“Clearly,” I huffed as I took his hand and helped myself up.   
“Are you certain you want to travel on foot?” He questioned.   
“Yes, I’m sure,” I replied.  
“That is most unwise,” he pushed.   
“This is exactly why I need to walk it out. Exercise helps with stress and I need to sharpen my gun skills,” I defended.   
“Shit,” X6 looked away from me toward another group of supermutants headed our way.  
They were carrying human bodies on their shoulders, clearly returning to what was apparently a camp. X6 and I ducked back behind the wall and didn’t dare to peak yet. We could hear them yelling, distraught. 

“You put puny humans there. I look,” I heard one say. He sounded huge.  
“Puny mutants!” Another yelled at what I assumed was one of his comrades’ dead bodies.   
“We got to sneak out of here,” I whispered to X6.   
“Any ideas?” He questioned.   
“Wait here until night and sneak out then?” I suggested.   
“That may not be an option. I hear one walking this way,” X6 had great perception.   
“Fuck,” I sighed, gripping my sniper rifle off of my back.   
“Let’s take out this one quick and rampage the rest,” X6 offered.   
“No, I got an idea. Think we could make it to that other house over there?” I pointed to a three-story ruined building that was about a hundred meters away.   
“Sure, but couldn’t we just keep running after that?” He asked.   
“Maybe, but I want to take these bastards out. Come on,” I moved quickly to another ruined wall. 

X6 followed me silently as we made our way to the other building and climbed up the stairs to the third story. We are lucky that supermutants aren’t the best at detection and that they didn’t have a hound on them. I set up my rifle out what use to be a window and lined up my scope with the dead suicider. I instructed X6 to stay behind the wall and squeezed the trigger. I moved as fast as I could to the wall opposite of him, but couldn’t stop some of the damage. 

Not only was there a massive explosion from the mini nuke, but a ton of radiation. I could feel it burn against my skin and my eyes stung. I could barely breathe as the shockwave hit the building. We were just barely out of range of the full impact of the blast. All the supermutants were incinerated in the blast and so were the bodies of the humans they killed. 

“Shit Olivia!” X6 cursed and made his way toward me. 

Coursers had a built-in immunity to large amounts of radiation, but I had no such luck. I could feel the urge to vomit overwhelm me. My skin was itchy and felt like it was on fire. It was only thanks to the radiation protection lined in my Institute suit that kept me from ghoulification. 

“I’m okay, I have some Rad-away in my bag,” I told him.   
He reached inside my rucksack and found the bag, “We should have just ran Olivia, what the hell is wrong with you?” He pulled up my sleeve and handed the needle to me.   
“I just didn’t want them to hurt anyone else,” I found a vein and pushed the needle into me.   
“You can’t take on every enemy you come across,” X6 scolded.   
“Watch me,” I smiled as there was an immediate relief to my stomach.   
X6 held the bag up for me, “What am I going to do with you?”   
“I have some suggestions,” I winked at him.   
“For the love of- Olivia,” he shook his head at me and turned his gaze to the crater I just made.   
“Oh you love me,” I teased, trying to ease the gravity of the situation with some humor.   
“Yeah,” his tone shifted to something soft. He leaned over and placed a kiss on my forehead, “Just stop trying to save the world every now and again please.”   
“I can do that,” I responded.   
“You better,” he replied.   
“That a threat, sir?” I pushed.   
“It might be,” he stood up and grabbed some duct tape to fix the IV bag onto the wall. 

He sat back down next to me and wrapped an arm around me. I leaned into him, taking a piece of tape to affix the needle in place. 

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he whispered to my hair, pressing his face into it.   
“Probably,” I looked to the ground, thinking of Nate.   
“I didn’t mean that literally,” he caught the look in my eyes like he read my mind.   
“I know,” I kept my gaze on the dirt, “Part of me still blames myself for the death of Nate.”   
“Why would you do that?” he questioned.   
“Because I hate myself I guess. I didn’t stop it from happening,” a tear formed behind my eyes.   
“No, you couldn’t,” he corrected.   
“Does it really matter? What good was I?” I looked up to him.   
“Yes, it really does. You couldn’t get out of that pod and if you did you’d just be dead too,” he stated.   
“Todavía…” I mumbled.   
“You need to stop being so damn hard on yourself for everything,” he sounded upset.   
“I’m sorry,” I replied.   
“Don’t be sorry, just treat yourself better,” he said.   
“I’ll try,” I promised, looking to the setting sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know realistically Olivia would have died in that blast, but since you can survive it in the video game I just rolled with it.


	66. Five is Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> filling that relationship tag, X6 has some kinks, and orgies are fun for all

We made it to Sanctuary a little worse for wear. My skin was feeling much better after that bag of rad away, a stimpak, and a few buffout. I happened to have some burn cream too, so that came in handy. I sat my bag down at my bed and made my way to see friends. This visit was long overdue. I’ve been contemplating having Codsworth washed down and brought into the Institute, but I think he may like being near our old home. X6 followed me to where Curie was, sitting with Cait and MacCready in her new body. 

“Curie?” I asked.  
“Olivia! My friend,” she jumped up and stumbled over the chair, “I am not accustomed to these legs.”  
I laughed, “I can see. How’s the body been treating you?”  
“Oh it is a dream! There are so many fascinating things I am learning about,” she smiled at me, “But I need help learning some of the...intimate parts of life.”  
“What do you mean?” I asked her, head tilted.  
“She means she wants to know what sex is like,” Cait pipped in.  
Curie’s face turned red and she spun around on her, “I do not! I want to know what this love emotion is.”  
“Oh, well that’s a hard one. Sex would be easier to grasp,” I shrugged.  
“Maybe I could be of assistance?” X6-88 offered.  
“You’d be the perfect one to explain it. Curie, feel free to take X6 for a little while,” I planted a kiss on his cheek and whispered a quick thank you. The two walked off talking.  
“So, you and the X6 are getting chummy,” MacCready commented.  
“Yeah, I think I love the idiot,” I smiled in the direction they left in.  
“Well I’m glad, you deserve happiness,” He replied.  
“You’re not upset?” I questioned.  
“Honestly? No. I think Cait and I have a good thing going,” he looked to the fiery woman on his left.  
“Oh really? Cait?” I looked at her.  
“What about it?” She snipped.  
“Nothing, I was just curious. Didn’t expect this pairing,” I laughed.  
“I didn’t say we were a couple. He’s just a handsome man to tubble with,” she replied.  
I raised my hands up defensively, “no problems here Cait.”  
“Damn right there aren’t,” she grinned, “I wouldn’t mind seeing you and Curie under me though.”  
“I wouldn’t mind that either,” MacCready took a swig of beer.  
“I bet you two wouldn’t,” I agreed.  
“What do you say? We teach Curie about what women can do for eachother?” Cait asked.  
“I don’t know. I’m trying to keep my relationship with X6 monogamous from now on,” I explained, “also I just got back and the first thing you want to talk about is fucking? Damn Cait.”  
“Well, just get his okay,” Cait downed a shot of whiskey, “And what’s the problem with that? We all know you’ve gotten around, more than me really.”  
“I’m-” my face began to redden, “I’m not going to ask him that.”  
“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” Cait flirted.  
“Goddamn it Cait,” I flung a cushion off of the chair at her.  
“Why don’t you come tell us about the Institute right now?” MacCready suggested.  
“Yeah, that would be nice,” I replied, “by the way, where is Danse?”  
“He’s been staying in the woods for the most part. He’ll come back for a rest in the common house then head back out for several days,” MacCready answered.  
“I’ll have to go look for him later then,” I said.  
“Maybe you should wait for him to come back? I get the feeling he wants to be alone,” MacCready suggested.  
“Fair enough,” I replied, “now let me tell you what your girl did.” 

… 

X6 and Curie made it back to the three of us, Curie looking embarrassed. X6 seemed amused to me, given the slight changes in his facial expression that only I would be able to pick up on. Curie came up to me with a question on her lips. 

“Olivia, I would like to know more about this intercourse that Monsieur X6 told me about,” she told me.  
“Oh, really?” I felt embarrassed myself. I didn’t expect X6 to talk about our love life.  
“No need to be embarrassed, I only told her the good parts,” X6 caught onto me.  
“Well, what can I help you know?” I asked her.  
“I have some questions but, a physical demonstration is needed,” she looked at X6.  
“You mean you want to watch Olivia and X6 fuck?” Cait laughed.  
“Cait!” I exclaimed.  
“No, she is right. I am curious about why it is that humans are so wrapped up in coitus,” she looked at the ground.  
“Well, if X6 is okay with it…” I trailed off.  
“I had another idea, if I may,” he leaned into my ear and whispered the kinkiest thing I’ve heard out of his mouth. 

I knew I was blushing hard. I never expected X6 to be one to enjoy such a thing, but I found the idea intriguing. It felt like it would be fun if done right and Curie could close out this section of her notes of human behavior. Hell, she may even like it. 

“Okay then,” my voice cracked, “Wait, what about MacCready?” I looked at X6.  
“He can watch,” he said.  
“Alright uh, follow me to my quarters then?” I stood up and directed them. 

I can’t believe this was about to happen. I have been in threesomes before, but not like this. Never with someone watching. Especially not with two people watching. I felt something like stage fright hit me. It kinda reminded me of all the times I practiced patient encounters for the first time, knowing I was being watched and evaluated. 

We found our way inside my house. I excused Codsworth for the night, promising to speak with him in the morning. X6 was stone faced as he took a seat in the far corner of the room. He let his legs relax and tossed an extra foldable chair to MacCready. MacCready seemed a little confused on what was about to happen, but he took a seat and watched quietly. 

“I can’t believe I’m about to do this,” I whispered to myself.  
“Be a good girl,” Cait said to me as she helped Curie onto the bed. 

I looked back at X6, who gave me a little smile. I knew what that look meant even though he was covered in his shades. He was enjoying this already. Never expected voyeurism to be his thing, but maybe I should have. He did enjoy watching me masterbate. 

Cait climbed on top of the flushed Curie, slowly unbuttoning her top. I wasn’t sure what I should be doing, so I just stood there like a dumbass watching them. Cait got the top off of Curie and worked on her pants while kissing her neck. Curie’s body was moving upward, as if on its own. MacCready whistled in the corner. 

I looked back to X6, who kept his eyes on me. I made my way over to the two women, taking a spot above Curie’s head. I ran my hands down her chest to her breasts and cupped both of them. Curie let out a soft moan, clearly the first one she’s ever had. MacCready leaned over his chair for a better view. 

“I think you should lose your clothes too sweetheart,” Cait said to me.  
“If you think so,” I hesitated before unzipping my suit. 

I wasn’t against this, at all. I was just so damn nervous. I’ve never had a known audience before so I wasn’t sure if I should just ignore them and move on or what. I decided on relieving myself of all of my suit and keeping on my underwear. They were nothing sexy, just a pair of white briefs and a nude bra, but I could see X6’s eyebrows raise nonetheless. 

“Bring that sweet arse over here,” Cait motioned for me to take her place. 

Cait stood off the bed and let me over Curie. I kept up with massaging her breasts, her face a nice shade of red. Cait worked Curie’s pants off from under me. Curie took a sharp breath as her skin puckered from the cold air. I ran my hands down the length of her body, keeping my eyes on X6. His face was stone, but I could make out the erection pressing against his leather pants. 

Cait climbed on the bed behind me and undid my own shirt. She cupped my breasts as I kneaded Curie’s. I could hear MacCready moan a little at the sight. Having both men watch us brought on some of the most erotic emotions I’ve ever felt, even more than fucking Virgil as a mutant. 

Lost in my own thoughts and wet thinking about what I did with Virgil, Cait managed to surprise me with a finger pressed into me from around my underwear. I yipped and jolted a bit. Cait laughed and curled her finger in just the right spot. We hadn’t fucked around a lot, but she remembered where that happy spot inside of me was. The only other person who could find it that easy was X6 and he took a while to figure it out. 

I decided to follow Cait’s idea and worked my way up the length of Curie’s leg. I stopped short of her sex. Curie panting. 

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” I asked her.  
“Please,” She begged. 

I had to admit, she did look hot like that. Like some innocent creature begging to be violated. I slipped a finger into her and felt her tighten hard against me. Apparently synths aren’t created with hymens, which made this much easier on the both of us. 

Curie slickened quickly so I managed to get another finger in. She wiggled under me, trying to make me hit her G-spot. It took a little while to move it properly but I did hit it. It was hard to focus on finding it with Cait bringing me on the verge of orgasm. 

I let me tongue find its way out of my mouth as I began panting from Cait’s thrusting into me. I tried to keep up that same pace with Curie, who was flustered and herself close to orgasm. I wasn’t sure if Cait cared whether or not she got to cum, or if she just enjoyed making women do it. 

Curie unraveled first, a string of curses flowing from her mouth in french. I didn’t know much of the language, but it didn’t take much to understand it from her mouth. I pumped into her through her orgasm, having one of my own the moment Cait pressed a digit against my asshole. 

I could hear Cait laugh as I collapsed on top of Curie, who was already starting to fall asleep. I looked around the room. X6 was smiling still and MacCready had, at some point, pulled out his own dick and been stroking. I was so focused on Curie at the end that I didn’t notice until now that he had joined. 

“Alright ladies, I have someone to take care of now,” Cait said as she made her way to MacCready.  
“Feel free, don’t stop on my account,” I told her.  
“What is she going to do?” Curie asked me through heavy lidded eyes.  
“Make sure MacCready gets his happy ending too,” I explained, “Do you understand why humans like sex so much?”  
“Yes, it is like a pain relieving drug. The hormones released stimulate-”  
“I know Curie,” I cut her off, “Did you enjoy it?”  
“Yes, I should like to do this again with a man,” she replied, “Maybe Monsieur X6-”  
“Absolutely not,” I responded before she could finish her statement, “but I do know someone who could use a little love.”  
“You should point him out to me!”  
“Oh I will, but for now let’s enjoy the show,” I pointed to Cait who was riding MacCready. 

The fold up chair under them creaked at the shifting weight. Cait never had a problem putting on a show, no shyness at all. I wish I had more of her confidence. I looked over to X6, who was motioning for me to come over to him. So I did. 

“Is that what you wanted?” I whispered to him.  
He pulled me down to him by my ass and forced me onto his lap, “Fuck yes.”  
“So dirty today,” I laughed.  
“You’re the one who made me like this,” he countered.  
“Fair, but still,” I kissed his cheek, “what do you want now?”  
“Copy Cait,” he asked without the question.  
“I can do that,” I placed my hands on either side of his face, “Hey Curie, watch us so you know what to do with a man.”  
“Yes!” She replied, her eyes shifting between the two of us women currently on our respective men.  
…

X6 and I changed the sheets on my bed before we laid down for the night. I was thoroughly exhausted from personal exertion. X6 and I agreed that that would be the only time we let someone else fuck me. I was perfectly okay with that. I didn’t have a desire to go around on him anyways. 

Cait and MacCready went back to the common house together and Curie was at her workstation writing down all about what she learned tonight. I gave some more thought to the person I knew Curie would be good for. I had considered giving Codsworth a synth body and seeing where that went, but I already shut down the production and had started renovating the room. 

Tomorrow morning, I will set out to find Danse.


	67. Libertalia

I passed through deadened, burned trees with bullet holes and knife wounds. I made my way to the cave I remembered from the first time we met. For some reason, I knew he’d be there. He could have been off anywhere in these barren woods, but I knew he’d be there. I stopped in the entryway of the cave and saw the outline of a big man sitting next to a fire. 

“Danse?” I questioned not because I needed to confirm it was him, but because I didn’t want to startle him too much.  
“Olivia?” He asked back, not turning away from the flame.  
His back was toward me, “What are you doing off here all alone?”  
“Thinking,” he said simply.  
“Mind if I join you? I, too, have a knack for overthinking,” I walked to the fire and took a seat across from him.  
He looked like he hadn’t eaten in days, his eyes sunken and his muscle mass down, “So, how did it end for Maxson?”  
“Oh, you know about that?” I rubbed the back of my head and looked down, “It was rough.”  
“Was he honorable to the end?” Danse’s voice cracked.  
“No, just proud,” I looked up to him, “I’m sorry Danse, but he refused to just talk. It was him or me and I still had someone to come home to.”  
“Had?” He questioned.  
“Shaun- er, the child I gave birth to is gone,” I felt the tears roll down my face, warmed up by the fire, “He died after I got back.” 

Danse didn’t make a verbal reply. I felt his arms around my neck as he had swiftly raced over to embrace me. He pulled me in hard, tears on his own face. I wrapped my arms around his back and pulled him into me. 

“I’m so sorry Danse,” I began to sob, “I’m sorry that you’ve been going through this alone. I didn’t know how to tell you until now.”  
“No, I’m sorry Olivia. You’ve been through so much,” he pushed his face into my neck, “I’ve missed you so much.”  
My heart broke a little more at the words, “Danse, I need to tell you something really important. Well, three things.” I pushed him out to meet my eyes.  
“One, you are loved and I hope I can convince you that you have friends and a family back at Sanctuary that is ready for you to come back,” I put a hand on his cheek, “I want you to know that Shaun left something for me before he passed. He gifted me a second chance at being a mother. In his exact image, he crafted a child synth that doesn’t know what he is. I would love for you to be the Godfather of this child.” Danse’s eyes grew wide. “Finally, I need you to know that I have found love with someone else. I don’t want to hurt you or string you along. I still love you and will be there for you when you need me, just as a friend and comrade this time around.”  
“I-I-what?” He stuttered.  
I bit my lip, “I know it’s a lot. I care about you so much Danse. I trust you with my life and my child’s, so I would love it if you accepted the role of Godfather to him. If something were to happen to me, you would step in and help raise him.”  
“No, I understood that. It would be my honor, but who did you move on with?” The hurt was clear in his voice.  
“You met him before, X6-88. The courser,” I explained.  
“So you really could love a synth?” He asked.  
“Yes, and I do,” I stated.  
“So, could you have loved me?” He asked.  
“Yes, but not in the way you deserve. There is someone out there better for you than me. I’m a mess Danse, you need someone more stable than me,” I hugged him.  
“But I want you,” he whispered in my hair as he pulled me close, pressing the back of my head into his shoulder.  
“But I’m not what you need. I’m not good enough Danse. There is a better fit for you out there,” I pulled away from him.  
“What if I never find them?” He questioned.  
“You will and I’ll help you, I’m not just walking away from you forever Danse,” I stood up and held my hand out to him, “In fact, there is someone I have in mind that could relate to you better than I could.”  
He took it, “Does X6-88 make you happy?”  
“Very much,” I smiled.  
“Then that’s good enough for me,” he replied. 

We walked out of the cave with our hands embraced this time like childern would walk together, instead of former lovers. I will always love Danse, but we just weren’t a good fit. I tried too hard to make it look like we would work because he reminded me so much of Nate, but it was wrong of me to hold Danse to that standard.  
…

X6 and I left my friends at Sanctuary, having received notice that a courser of ours that went missing months ago, perceptibly destroyed, had resurfaced as the leader of a gang in a location called Libertalia. It was a floating location made of a series of boats, floating boards, and other buoyant objects. I’m not sure what it used to be, but the place was huge now. 

When I left Sanctuary I had put in a few good words about Danse in Curie’s ears. Curie wants to learn about love and Danse needs more love than anyone else I know. The poor man’s life was a lie and now the man he looked up to most was killed by his former lovers hand. If anyone could give Danse tender, soft love, it would be the sweet Curie who is still learning emotions like Danse is. 

We took up hiding behind a metal shed to size up the place. X6 watched the movements of the pacing raiders. He kept track of everywhere they took their breaks and made a mental log of the best spots to take them on. I pulled out my sniper rifle and crawled onto the ground on my belly, hiding inside of a thick shrub. The vantage point would be better if I climbed on top of the roof of the building, but I would be out in the open and easier to spot. 

I lined the scope up with the first raider on the float. It was a young man, barely eighteen. I cringed at myself, thinking about his family as I was about to kill him. X6 caught how I tensed up and crawled to meet me in the bush. He placed a hand on my shoulder. 

“We can do this another time. The courser isn’t going anywhere anytime soon Olivia,” He said, rubbing small circles on me.  
I groaned at the prospect of coming back and trying again, “I know I’m being stupid right now. I’ve killed hundreds of people and suddenly it’s catching up to me when I’m about to blow out a raiders brain. He has probably murdered and raped plenty of people like most of them do but, it just feels wrong somehow. Maybe we can talk to them?” I rambled.  
“We could if you want to die,” X6 replied, “If you can’t do this, we have people we can dispatch now.”  
“No, if I can’t do this myself then I shouldn’t be allowed the power to make others do it. What kind of leader would that make me?” I countered.  
“Would you like a report on the activities of this gang?” He offered.  
“That would usually work, but I don’t think it’s going to help this time. I think I need to just retire. Get this done, and quit,” I admitted.  
“Would you remain the Director?” He asked me, sounding worried.  
“Yes, until we are on our feet enough to hold an election. I don’t like having been given this role and not earning it from everyone,” I rubbed the back of my head and leaned my head to the ground, “I think I’m getting too old for this X6.”  
“Old? I doubt that,” he lightly slapped my ass, “or at least that’s not.”  
“Oh ha,” I stuck my tongue out at him, “seriously though, this is going to be it for me. The last mission I spearhead myself. It’s time for someone else to come and take my place on the ground,” I kept my eyes on X6’s shades.  
“No one could ever replace you,” he smiled at me.  
I felt hot under his gaze, “nor you.”  
“Shall we?” He looked to the young man sitting on a floating small boat.  
“Here goes nothing,” I sighed, this time pulling the trigger. 

From the scope I could see how his skull shattered open and bits of brain matter exploded on impact. I felt the same sickness to my stomach that I felt killing my first person out of the vault, but I had learned how to hold it down when in the moment. A useful skill in this world. 

X6 kept his rifle ready in case anyone figured out where the shots were coming from. Training my aim on the targets is harder now as several raiders in the area began to scramble. Some ran over the spot of their fallen comrade, fucking amuters. I picked those two off in no time. They left themselves completely open. It’s almost like they have never seen a real fight. 

“Good one,” X6 peeked from around the bush.  
“Yeah,” I mumbled. 

I moved my sight across the floats, waiting on X6 to give me directions to their locations. 

“One laying on a wooden board between the two small boats.” Dead. “Another hiding behind next to the cleats portside.” Dead. “One rushing over here to the right.” Dead. “That’s it for the moment.” 

I crawled back from under the bush and crouched. I swapped my sniper rifle for my modified plasma rifle. We quickly made our way from boat to boat until we reached the big ship. It was half sunken with the stern up in the air. X6 took the lead, which I was perfectly fine with. I get motion sickness easily so I’m okay with hanging back for now. 

There were two guards standing at the makeshift entrance to the boat, talking and laughing. Again, I could feel myself pause. What right did I have to do this? I believed in freedom for synths, and that freedom includes the ability to do things often deemed ill. I’m not a God, why do I get to decide who dies? 

“Olivia!” X6 whispered to me, motioning for me to get lower. 

Drawn from my thoughts, I focused on the man and woman before me. The woman appeared to be in her late twenties wearing pots and pans as metal armor. The man was younger like the first boy I killed. He was in leather clothes. 

X6 pulled his combat knife out and I followed suit. We needed to get in very close and kill them without them making too much noise. X6 had been making me practice throwing knives. It was easier with the light blades, but my combat knife had more weight that wasn’t evenly distributed. He signaled for me to get ready. I flipped the blade in my hands a few times to prepare myself mentally and physically. 

X6 threw a small pebble to the opposite of us to cause the guards to step out into our line of sight. We sprung up and threw our knifes. Mine sunk into the man’s throat, choking his noises as the blood poured out of his mouth and he fell into the water. X6 missed, hitting her shoulder.  
The raider set off an alarm before he managed to shoot her down. 

Several raiders rushed from other floors down to the bottom with pistols, rifles, and bats. Fuck.


	68. Shit Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to try something a little different for this chapter to cure my writer’s block. In the next few chapters I will be addressing a few questions. What did Ayo have in mind? What’s Madison and Virgil up to? What will Olivia do with Shaun? There will be two major events happening very soon and at least one of those will make you hate me, but I’m going to do it anyways so please know ahead of time I am very sorry. If you have any questions you want to be answered in these next few weeks or anything you want to see, let me know in the comments. I haven’t started writing the next chapters so I’ll do my best to cater to requests. We are nearing the end of this part of the story. I don’t know yet just how many chapters will be left, but I’m confident it will be a few months' worth. I already have a prequel and sequel in mind, so let me know if you would want to read anything like that. Thank you so much for reading this far and please check out my other works. I currently have a Fallout New Vegas series running that updates monthly and also released a Curie/Codsworth one shot. Please enjoy xxx

Thirty-two. That’s how many shots I had fired in the last few minutes. At this rate, I would be out of ammo before the bastards are down. X6 was looking in a similar shape. We were going to be royally fucked. I grabbed at my arm, a bullet whizzing past and clipping it. I didn’t have time to pull my hand back and inspect the blood, I was too busy dodging the nail spiked baseball bat of a chem crazy fiend. Fortunately, from the years of being in the wastes now, I’ve become adept at dodging. Unfortunately, adept isn’t enough when you’re at a handicap of being sober. 

I hit the planks hard, feeling my shoulder pop out of the socket. The immediate tears blurred my vision and I couldn’t make out the next hit of the bat. I didn’t need to see it though, I heard it. I heard as my shin shattered, the bone-crunching sound. I’m glad I couldn’t see X6’s face because I could only imagine the look on it. 

There was the sound of a laser round and the body of the man fell on top of me. I don’t know what hurt more, the actual shattering of the bone or the weight that was now pressed upon it. It was unbearable. I couldn’t even feel the gun in my hand, assuming it was still there. 

X6 was alone in the fight. I could only make out the blue sky above me, but I couldn’t see the action. At some point, I heard X6 lay out a string of curses and call for me. I felt like I couldn’t answer, so I didn’t. My heart was in my throat and I prayed that the raiders thought I was dead. 

I tried my best to stay conscious to no avail. I fell out to the ringing of grenades. 

… 

Goddamn it. Three more fuckers firing from the upper portholes. One hunting rifle, two pipe rifles. Four more on the ground. Two short-range pipe pistols, one bat. Odds of Olivia and I coming out of this unscathed, 1%. Odds of us coming out alive, undetermined. Best strategy: keep a distance from Olivia, draw attention to myself, focus on hostiles on the ground. Current status: low on ammo. Current target status: not appeared. 

Shit, there’s one coming for Olivia. Can’t change target, have to trust her. One more down, turning focus to the portholes. Fuck, what was that? Olivia? I can’t look yet. One more down. 

I turned all focus to her, the love of my life, laying on the ground. Her leg was bent in an unnatural way, blood pouring from puncture wounds. Without hesitation, I took the bastard out. Bullets whizzed past my head, but I didn’t care. I had to get to her, protect her. 

I ran to the cover beside her, taking a round to my right calf. I couldn’t feel the pain or the blood running down my leg. All that mattered was her and she was currently losing consciousness. I could feel my courser training kick in, taking over all conscious thought. My body moving for itself. The two men on the ground were dead before I realized it. It happened between blinks. Rage was settling in. 

One man fell out of the porthole and into the water, limp and lifeless. Still two more to go. One was rushing down to the planks that formed the bridge to the ship. From the top I could see a round, dark object flying toward us. I had only moments to throw myself ontop of Olivia, knowing my courser body was meant to withstand an explosion. My clothes, on the other hand, not so much. 

I could feel the shrapnel lodge into my back and arms, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the woman under me right now. I felt water at my hands and legs, the planks under me having broken under the force of the explosion. Olivia’s hair was in the ocean and her body rapidly sinking. I grabbed her with one hand and began to furiously paddle to the nearest boat. 

It took a lot of my strength to pull us both onto the deck, soaked. I grabbed at Olivia’s waterlogged bag where I knew she kept her stimpaks. I injected all four into her, three on her shin and one in the arm. The flesh bonded quickly, the bone took longer. I couldn’t stand to watch it happen, so I focus on her face. She looked so pale. 

I felt my heart skip a few beats as her eyes fluttered open and she groaned, “Olivia?”   
“Hey handsome,” she replied, her cold hand reaching up to touch my face.   
“I think we should retreat,” I suggested.   
“Us? We aren’t the retreating type X6,” she furrowed her brow.   
“Damn it Olivia, your leg was just completely shattered. We can come back another time,” I said, frustrated.   
“They would regroup by then. How many are left?” She inquired.   
“Two and our target,” I informed her.   
“We can handle that,” she smiled at me.   
Damn that smile, “Alright. What’s your plan?”   
“Well I still have my sniper rifle, a little wet now but it should still work right?” She asked me.   
Her knowledge of guns was still limited even after years here, “It should, but that could damage it.”   
“I can get it repaired. Let me take out the two we can see then we’ll rush our target,” she responded.   
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” I questioned.   
“Yes. We’re saving that courser from himself. It’s the Institue’s responsibility,” I could see the determination in her eyes.   
“As you wish,” I caved to her, “It would be wise to work quickly. It’ll be getting dark soon.”   
“Of course,” Olivia turned and pulled the rifle off her back. 

I watched her with admiration as she propped the barrel against the rails of the boat. She was quick to find her targets. If there was one thing that was impeccable about Olivia, it was her sight. My eyes lingered on her trigger finger as it squeezed. A bounce of recoil against her shoulder sent her hair back. 

Olivia had a habit of holding her breath when she fired. A lot of humans I’ve seen shooting did that, it was a curious thing. Probably something I would never fully understand. I never held my breath and fired on inhale or exhale, never picking one over the other.

Olivia was done, both targets were out. I gripped my laser rifle with heavy hands. I was apprehensive about this plan. Even though Olivia was already on her feet and walking on the planks to the ship, I could see the way she favored her undamaged leg. Her sway in her hips was gone and she was stiff. Hell, she was walking like me. 

I tried to turn my attention back to the ship, keeping an eye out for our target. He was nowhere to be seen. It raised my suspicion that after all the commotion he would still be hiding. I kept a close distance to Olivia, ready to pull her out of harm’s way if needed. We made it into the ship and were walking up the makeshift stairs. 

“I knew you’d come for me,” a voice rang out from the top of the ship. We ascended to the last flight of stairs, “You bastards always come.”   
“We aren’t here to hurt you,” Olivia called out. You aren’t.   
“No? What do you want? To erase my memory, give me false ones to change me?” The voice continued. 

Olivia reached the top of the stairs first and I watched as her whole body tensed and a chill ran up her spine. It was like watching a cat’s fur begin to stand on edge. I took the last three steps in one bound to be next to her and what she was seeing. 

“That’s it isn’t it?” A statuesque man stood opposite of us with tear-filled wide eyes. The end of a rifle held against his temple.   
“You know you’re a synth?” Olivia asked, still.   
“I’ve known the whole time,” he barked at her.   
“Then why...why live like this?” She asked.   
“Does it matter? It’s my life and this is what I’ve chosen to do with my freedom,” a tear rolled down his eye, “I’m not letting you or anyone else make me go back to my slavery.”   
“I’m the new Director, things aren’t like they were,” Olivia’s voice cracked, she was scared for this man’s life. The man who just admitted he chose to be a raider. Up until now, we thought he lost his memories of the Institute.   
“So what? You let me just go now?” He adjusted his grip, “No. You won’t let a man like me just carry on. You just wiped out my whole crew, as though you have the right to end their lives, just because they stood in your way. Did you even try to talk to them?”   
Olivia clutched her chest, “I-”   
“I saw you, I know you didn’t. This is simple. You want to change me and I don’t want to change. I’ll go out a free man on my own terms before I let you change me,” he yelled.   
“Can we talk about this without weapons?” Olivia tried.   
“So you can just play mind games with me? Fuck no,” he adjusted his rifle.   
“I’m not trying to play games with you. I swear I just want to talk and hear your side of things,” she replied. I’m not sure if she was bluffing or not. It definitely was the plan to take him in and wipe his mind. “Wouldn’t you rather forget about your trauma and have a fresh start to life?”   
“No. I don’t care what I went through, I don’t want to forget,” he shouted.   
“Okay, I understand. Why don’t you just put the gun down and we can-” 

The man hit the floor, pieces of his brain out on the ground. Olivia’s mouth was agape. I had jumped to her side. I placed a hand on her shoulder, knowing that she was too soft of heart to handle what just happened. 

“I-I just wanted to talk,” Olivia stammered.   
“I know,” I pulled her into my chest and rubbed the back of her head.   
“He didn’t have to do that. Why did he-oh god, this is my fault,” her voice rattled.   
“No, he did this to himself,” I assured her, looking to the bloody mess before us.   
“He was right, I did want to change him. I have no right to do that,” she began to sob.   
“Olivia, have you never seen a suicide before?” I asked her.   
“No,” was the muffled response I received from her face being rubbed deep onto me.   
“That makes sense,” I sighed, “Look, Honey, there was nothing you could have done to stop him. He made up his mind long before you talked to him.”   
“Is that suppose to make me feel better?” she asked.   
“No, I’m just stating facts,” I replied.   
“Can...can we go home?” she hesitated.   
“Right after I get his chip,” I pulled away from her and walked to the mess of what used to be a man. 

I felt around the pieces of the brain until I hit the metal component I was looking for. I shook it off and put it in my coat pocket. Olivia was sitting down, her legs tucked under her. She was in complete shock. I can’t say this is where I saw this trip heading. Deciding she probably wouldn’t stand on her own, I scooped her legs up to my chest and picked her up. She didn’t say anything, but I knew she appreciated the motion when she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled herself closer to me. 

It was going to be a long night.


	69. I Love You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for this chapter.

I woke up to an uncomfortable feeling in my leg. I looked down at the white sheet covering them and could see the outline of a metal brace attached to my right leg. Right, the bat. X6 was in the corner of the room speaking to Virgil and Madison. Shaun was holding X6’s hand, he looked scared. 

“Mom’s awake!” He shouted and ran over to me. 

“Hey sweetie,” I pat his back as he wrapped his arms around my neck, “did you have a good time with Virgil?” 

“Yeah! He let me help collect tissue!” He grinned at me, “I missed you though.” 

“He spoke about you everyday,” Virgil offered me a kind smile, approaching the hospital bed. 

“Indeed. It grew rather annoying,” Madison remarked. 

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but why are you here? It’s not like you to be away from your research for social calls,” I asked. 

“You’d be correct, but Virgil felt it important that I’d be here with him when you woke up,” she glanced at the now blushing man. 

“Well, I appreciate it Madison,” I replied. 

“You’re welcome. Now if you excuse me, I need to get back to my lab,” she turned away. 

“I ought to go too. I’m glad you’re okay Olivia,” he placed a hand on mine before following after Madison like a puppy. 

“Those two have gotten very close,” X6 commented, now beside the bed. 

“It’s good. I’m glad Virgil is moving on,” I told him, “I didn’t want him just sitting around thinking I was going to change my mind.” 

“It’s a good thing you didn’t,” he leaned down and gave me a kiss on the forehead. 

“Are you okay?” I asked him, worried. 

“Yeah nothing I couldn’t handle,” he looked forward to the wall, keeping his gaze off of me. 

“You got worried about me huh?” I questioned. 

“I always am,” he sighed. 

“You look like you have something you want to get off your chest,” I put a hand on his arm. 

“Yeah, I do,” he looked at the ground. 

“You can let me carry some of that burden,” I urged him. 

“We can talk about it in private, for now you should be giving Shaun your attention,” he finally met my eyes. 

I offered him a weak smile before turning my attention to Shaun. I had decided that it wasn’t my place to pick and choose what memories he should get to keep. The idea just made me feel horrible after my experience with the runaway courser. 

It was a few hours after being awake before the doctor let me leave the clinic and head to my own quarters. X6 seemed apprehensive the whole way there. I kept my hand in his, taking comfort in the feeling. X6 led me to the bed and had me sit down as he pulled up a chair in front of me, taking a seat himself. 

“What’s going on?” I asked him, concerned, “Is this about me getting hurt?” 

“No,” his tone was somber, “I have caught word of a resistance forming here. Some did not take kindly to your becoming the Director and making the changes you have. Ayo has gone missing these past few days. I fear he is planning an attack on you.” 

I could feel myself panic, “Is there any more information? Any ideas on how or when he may try something?” 

“No,” he placed a kiss on my forehead, “If I were going to attack you, I would do so now since you are already weak and your location is known.” X6 grimaced, “I’d wait til night.” 

“Then we can double up security in mine and Shaun’s quarters at night,” I stroked his cheek, “It’ll be okay X6.” 

He put his hand on mine and leaned into my touch. It wasn’t like X6 to seem so worried, which only made me feel more scared. I knew Ayo didn’t like me at all, but I really assumed he was all talk. 

Our rest that night was far from peaceful. X6 kept waking up every hour to patrol the entirety of my quarters before trying to sleep again. He often stirred me awake in the process. I tried my best to comfort him, but nothing seemed to help. At one point I felt sick and threw up, X6 holding my hair back. I chalked it up to nerves and went back to bed after I emptied my stomach of its contents. 

The next week was spent managing the Institute's daily activity, spending time with Shaun, and having more restless nights. Something was gnawing at me. I stirred in X6’s arms, trying to find a more comfortable position to rest. My stomach ached and my heart was heavy. Would Ayo attack us? Here? In our own home? 

“Something wrong?” X6 asked me. 

“I can’t get Ayo off my mind. What if he sneaks in while we sleep and kills us?” I replied. 

“I doubt he’d manage to break in, but I would sense him. Don’t worry about it. I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he kissed my forehead. 

It was a nice sentiment, but I knew better. X6 didn’t say it, but his tone let on more than he knew. X6 was worried too. I’ve seen him constant on guard, always double checking locks and changing security codes frequently. Dogmeat could sense the changes too. He had been less outgoing when around him, whining more often than normal. 

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and pressed myself harder under his arm. It would do me no good to not get sleep. If anything, I needed it more. The stress of it all left me drained and constantly fatigued. I was always tired and slightly achy. I knew it wouldn’t go away until we found Ayo. 

The next morning there was a sense of gravity in the air. There was a breach of security in the Biolab. No one knew for certain who broke in, but my gut knew it was Ayo. There were no clear motives for why that section of the Institute. All security codes had been changed immediately and security was increased. Robotic synths had been added to the ranks to ease the burden of the coursers. 

The night that followed found me in increasing stress. It had been nice to see how the Institute had changed. Virgil and Madison were an official couple now, which brought me joy for the both of them. Shaun’s skills at weapon building were sharpening. The Railroad had successfully integrated the last set of synths above ground. The security force had doubled in numbers. Yet this cloud of despair hung in the air around the invisible threat. 

With the help of some sleeping medication, I had finally fallen asleep with my head resting on X6’s chest. His rhythmic heartbeat and smooth rise and fall of his chest kept me feeling secure. I hadn’t heard the door to our room slide open. In fact, the only thing that woke me was a familiar voice. 

“Your time as come Director,” Ayo spoke in the darkness. X6 bolted up, hands reaching for the laser pistol on the table, only to find it wasn’t there. “You didn’t think I would be foolish enough to allow you to get a hold of a weapon now, did you?” The lights flicked on, revealing Ayo standing before us with two second generation synths at his side. His grin was wide and unnerving, “X6-88, you were the best of your ranks. It would be a shame to let your talents go to waste. I’ll have you reprogrammed so you remember your place.” I could sense X6’s tension. He looked at me now, “As for you, Director,” venom laced the title, “You sicken me. To lay with a synth as though they’re people. What’s worse is what you’ve done to the Institute. Foolishly opening it up to the world.” 

“If you can’t see the benefits of the changes I made,” I spat, “then you’re blind.” 

Ayo scoffed, “Benefits? All I see are liabilities.” 

“What do you want Ayo?” X6’s voice was stern. 

“It doesn’t matter what I want. This is about business. The Institute needs a competent leader, not some soft whore.” That was it, the snap for X6. He leapt from the bed, ready to pounce on the man. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Ayo pointed the pistol in his hand at me, “You should come quietly and I might just make her death quick.” 

“X6,” my voice shook, “Kill him. My life is forfeit regardless. You can still make it though.” I wasn’t ready to die, but if my death meant saving X6 then I would do it happily.

“Well isn’t that sweet,” Ayo laughed, “On second thought, maybe I should make you watch him die. Your sentiments sicken me. This shows just how weak you are. No matter,” he raised a hand signal and the synths turned their attention off of me and onto X6. 

I watched in helpless horror as X6 charged Ayo, ignoring the scorching pains of the laser rounds the two synths gave. With no weapon, he strangled the man. I ran and tackled one of the synths, snatching his gun to shoot him and the other. My shot came too late though. Ayo had managed to bring his gun to his chest, firing. X6’s eyes went wide. I fired several rounds in Ayo’s head, watching as his flesh burned to ash. 

I ran to X6, scooping him in my arms. He looked at me with sorrow filled eyes. We had no simpaks in the room and there was no time to find one. There was just too much blood rushing from the wound, an artery had been struck. An alarm went off at the sounds of gunfire, red lights flashing. X6 brought a hand up to my face and gave me a slight smile, his body growing slack and heavier. He whispered to me, “I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was short and long overdue. Depression is a strange thing and, because of it, I had actually forgotten how I wanted to write the next few chapters. It took me a couple of months to remember and finish writing what little it did. It's not exactly what I wanted, but it still turned out with the same plot I imagined. There will only be a few more chapters before it all wraps up.


End file.
